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Gravity Probe B

Testing Einstein's Universe

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR WEEK ENDING 2 JUNE 2000:

MAJOR PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT - SPECIAL THIS WEEK
The Lockheed Martin probe rework team along with Stanford support staff has SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE PROBE C REWORK AND ASSOCIATED REWORK VERIFICATION. This is a major program milestone and allows us to retire a significant technical and schedule risk. The thermal test verification demonstrated a factor of 10 margin in the rework thermal conductivity to support the mission life time requirement. The vacuum leak rate test verification demonstrated a factor of more than 100 margin against the leak rate requirement. The mechanical margins of the rework are 7 for yield and 16 for failure. The Lockheed Martin rework team members included Mark Molini, Gary Reynolds, Mike Sisley, Jeff Vanden Beukel, Dan Welsh, Bruce Hoyman and Eric Will. The Stanford based personnel supporting this work included Ken Bower, Rob Brumley, Chris Gray, and Russ Leese. Click here to learn more about this challenging work.

PAYLOAD HIGHLIGHT
The Lockheed Martin probe rework team has successfully completed the thermal verification of the Probe C redesign. Each of the four HEX (Heat Exchanger)locations responded as expected to the application of heat thereby meeting the associated thermal requirements.

Photo: This week's highlight describes the entire thermal rework process. Click the small photo of a thermal pin in HEX #2 to learn more.

SPACE VEHICLE HIGHLIGHT
The Spacecraft Functional Test being developed by the LMSS GPB Spacecraft Operations Product Development Team has successfully completely Level 2 development and has been run on the flight hardware in the B/205 high bay. The Functional Test is a comprehensive system level test designed to verify workmanship and mimics a condensed launch timeline in order to develop, and more fully understand, the command sequences necessary to operate GP-B on orbit.
Team members who contributed to this accomplishment are: Emily Biss, Ric Campo, Norm Bennett, Flora Helin, Ted Gill, Rocky Raquinio, Frank Mendoza, Tan Nguyen, Mark Anderson, Shawky Shehata, Paul Dulgov, Jerry Aguinaldo, Maggie Johnston, Richard Demars, Rita Miller, Sheila Johnson, David Tomini, Karl Allmendinger, Victoria Schumann and Bill Jacobsen.

Photo: LMSS Engineers Ric Campo and Emily Biss with the GP-B Spacecraft in LMSS B/205.

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