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Gravity Probe B

Testing Einstein's Universe

Media Gallery

Program Overview and Results

GP-B in a Nutshell Video

Gravity Probe B in a Nutshell — The Video
14 min YouTube Video

A 14-minute overview of GP-B that combines, video, animations, photos, diagrams and illustrations, describing all major aspects—including the final results—of this landmark experiment.

Download Mac QuickTime MOV version (320MB)

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GP-B Video File1

Gravity Probe B Video File, Part I
10 min YouTube Video

Includes: Technology development,
Spacecraft launch & separation and
four selected animations

 

GP-=B Video File 2

Gravity Probe B Video File, Part II
14 min YouTube Video

Contains six segments of GP-B PI
Francis Everitt and Co-PI Brad
Parkinson talking about GP-B

 

Results Press Conference at NASA HQ

Final Results Announcement Press Conference at NASA Headquarters, May 4, 2011
50 min YouTube Video

NASA Headquarters science update and press conference announcing the results and discussing various aspects of the program, its many accomplishments and the significance of the results to physicists and the scientific community at large.

For more informaton about the results, see Mission Status Update, 4 May 2011

Everitt interview on Science Friday

Francis Everitt Interviewed on NPR Science Friday by Ira Flatow,
May 6, 2011

14 min 11 sec MP3 Audio

Ira Flatow interviews Francis Everitt about GP-B and the final results on NPR's Talk of the Nation—Science Friday.

For more informaton about the results, see Mission Status Update, 4 May 2011

 

Everitt interview on Planetary Radio

Francis Everitt Interviewed on Planetary Radio by Matt Kaplan
May 23, 2011

15 min MP3 Audio

Matt Kaplan interviews Francis Everitt about GP-B and the final results on The Planetary Society's Planetary Radio.

For more informaton about the results, see Mission Status Update, 4 May 2011


Animations

GP-B 'Simple' Experiment Animation

A "Simple" Experiment
1 min 8 sec YouTube Video

Captioned animation showing the simplicity of the GP-B experimental concept, contrasted with the complex engineering required to make the ultra-precise measurements required.

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Gravity in Newton's Universe

Gravity in Newton's Universe
1 min 32 sec YouTube Video

Captioned animation showing Isaac Newton's concept of gravity as a force, acting instantaneously at a distance between objects.

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Gravity in Einstein's Universe

Gravity in Einstein's Universe
1 min 32 sec YouTube Video

Captioned animation showing Albert Einstein's concept of gravity as bodies moving along geodesic paths through warped spacetime

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Gravity in Einstein's Universe

Measuring Spacetime Curvature with Gyroscopes
3 min YouTube Video

Captioned animation showing how space-borne gyroscopes are used to measure the geodetic & frame-dragging effects of gravity on Earth's local spacetime, asa predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity.

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Gravity in Einstein's Universe

SQUID Magnetic Gyro ReadoutSuperconductivity, & the London Moment
2 mins, 12 sec YouTube Video

Captioned animation showing how superconductivity and the London moment enable SQUID magnetometers to read out the changing spin-axis orientation of the four GP-B spherical gyroscopes.

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Gravity in Einstein's Universe

The Drag-Free Satellite
4 mins, 24 sec YouTube Video

Captioned animation showing how a drag-free satellite works by using satellite to shield and "chase" a gyroscope or other "proof mass," which maintains a free-fall orbit.

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Orbit Insertion, Guide Star Acquisition & Experimental Measurements Animation

Orbit Insertion, Guide Star Acquisition & Measurement Animation
2 min 23 sec YouTube Video

Excerpt from the movie, "Testing Einstein's Universe," 2003, with new GP-B measurements animation created by Lee Kolb & Greg Trent, NASA/MSFC Animation Group, 2007

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GP-B Gyro #1 Polhode Motion Animations

Polhode Motion
Continuous Looping

Looping animation showing the actual polhode motion of gyroscope #1 at during early, middle and late in the mission


Testing Einstein�s Universe

Testing Einstein�s Universe

Testing Einstein�s Universe
26 min YouTube Video

Written, Directed & Produced by Norbert Bartel, Ph.D.

Professor of Astrophysics & Space Sciences, York University, Canada, September 2003

Copyright ©2003 by Norbert Bartel

Purchase the Testing Einstein's Universe DVD

Excerpts from the movie, �Testing Einstein�s Universe�

GP-B Measurement of the Geodetic Effect

GP-B Measurement of the Geodetic Effect
52 sec YouTube Video

Movie excerpt Copyright ©2003 by Norbert Bartel

New animation created by Lee Kolb & Greg Trent, NASA/MSFC Animation Group, 2007

 

GP-B Measurement of the Frame-Dragging Effect

GP-B Measurement of the Frame-Dragging Effect
1 min 26 sec YouTube Video

Movie excerpt Copyright ©2003 by Norbert Bartel

New animation created by Lee Kolb & Greg Trent, NASA/MSFC Animation Group, 2007

Prior Tests of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity

Previous Tests of General Relativity
1 min 17 sec YouTube Video

Francis Everitt describes previous tests of general relativity

Copyright ©2003 by Norbert Bartel

How Small an Angle is One Tenth of a Milliarcsecond?

How Small an Angle is One Tenth of a Milliarcsecond?
58 sec YouTube Video

Animation showing the minuscule size of 0.0001 arc-seconds (i.e. 1/10 milli-arcsecond)

Copyright ©2003 by Norbert Bartel

GP-B: A Collaborative Effort

GP-B: A Collaborative Effort
1 min 6 sec YouTube Video

Francis Everitt describes the collaborative effort necessary to carry out GP-B

Copyright ©2003 by Norbert Bartel

Superconductivity: SQUID Readout & London Moment

Superconductivity: SQUID Readout & London Moment
1 min 43 sec YouTube Video

Superconductivity�A magnetic readout for determining the spin-axis orientation of the gyros

Copyright ©2003 by Norbert Bartel

Spacecraft/Payload dissection

Spacecraft/Payload dissection
1 min 32 sec YouTube Video

A dissection of the GP-B experiment, starting with the spacecraft and moving in through the payload layers to the gyros

Copyright ©2003 by Norbert Bartel

Spacecraft/Payload dissection

VLBI Measurement of IM Pegasi's Proper Motion
4 min 20 sec YouTube Video

Relating the motion of the guide star, IM Pegasi, to distant quasars using VLBI to precisely measure its proper motion

Copyright ©2003 by Norbert Bartel


Pre-Launch Press Conference at NASA Headquarters April 2, 2004


Pre-Launch Press Conference at NASA Headquarters

Pre-Launch Press Conference at NASA Headquarters (PLPC)
April 2, 2004
63 min

Panelists: Don Savage, Moderator; Anne Kinney, NASA Science Mission Directorate; Rex Geveden, NASA/MSFC Program Manager; Francis Everitt, Principal Investigator; Bradford Parkinson, Co-Principal Investigator; Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Physics, CalTech

Excerpts from GP-B Pre-launch Press Conference at NASA Headquarters, April 2, 2004

The Missing Inch

The Missing Inch
1 min 52 sec YouTube Video

Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, CalTech

The Significance of GP-B

The Significance of GP-B
2 min 58 sec YouTube Video

Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, CalTech

Why Perform Another Test of Einstein�s Theory of General Relativity?

Why Perform Another Test of Einstein�s Theory of General Relativity?
2 min 7 sec YouTube Video

Francis Everitt, GP-B Principal Investigator, Stanford University

GP-B in the Context of Black Holes

GP-B in the Context of Black Holes
4 min 6 sec YouTube Video

Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, CalTech

GP-B Student Involvement

GP-B Student Involvement
40 sec YouTube Video

Francis Everitt, GP-B Principal Investigator, Stanford University

1976 Viking Measurement of Geodetic Warping

1976 Viking Measurement of the Shapiro Time Delay
2 min 21 sec YouTube Video

Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, CalTech

Dragging Space Into Motion Around The Rotating Earth

Dragging Space Into Motion Around The Rotating Earth
1 min 23 sec YouTube Video

Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, CalTech

Gravity Probe A � Measuring the Warping of Time

Gravity Probe A � Measuring the Warping of Time
1 min 9 sec YouTube Video

Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, CalTech

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) � Building on GP-B Technology to Measure Gravity Waves

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) � Building on GP-B Technology to Measure Gravity Waves
3 min 34 sec YouTube Video

Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, CalTech


Movie Clips

Francis Everitt: GP-B Public Lecture

Francis Everitt: GP-B Public Lecture
1 hour 28 min YouTube Video

Francis Everitt, Stanford Brainstorm Lecture Series, May 18, 2006

Launch Commemorative Movie

Launch Commemorative Movie
12 min YouTube Video

Short Documentary covering the period before, during and immediately following the April 2004 GP-B launch

Produced my Mick Speer, NASA/MSFC Television

NASA Launch & Spacecraft Separation Video

NASA Video Footage of GP-B Launch & Spacecraft Separation
1 min 36 sec YouTube Video

Edited NASA video footage of the GP-B spacecraft launch and separation

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Simulation of Launch in GP-B Mission Operations Center

Simulation of Launch in GP-B Mission Operations Center
1 min 54 sec YouTube Video

B-Roll Footage showing a launch simulation exercise in the GP-B Mission Operations Center in 2003

Polishing & Measuring the Sphericity of a Gyroscope Rotor

Polishing & Measuring the Sphericity of a Gyroscope Rotor
1 min 25 sec YouTube Video

NASA/GP-B Stanford Video Archive

Video shot in WW Hansen Experimental Physics Labs (HEPL) at Stanford University

� 1998 Australian Broadcasting Company; Used with permission

Thermal Connection Repairs to the Flight Probe and Replacement of Gyro #4

Thermal Connection Repairs to the Flight Probe and Replacement of Gyro #4
4 min 5 sec YouTube Video

NASA/GP-B Stanford Video Archive

Video shot in a clean room at Stanford University, where final repairs were made to the flight probe

Moving the complete GP-B spacecraft to the Thermal Vacuum Test Chamber at Lockheed Martin

Moving the complete GP-B spacecraft to the Thermal Vacuum Test Chamber at Lockheed Martin
1 min 42 sec YouTube Video

NASA/ Lockheed Martin Video Archive

The complete GP-B spacecraft, sans solar arrays, is moved to the Thermal Vacuum Test Chamber at Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space Co. in Sunnvale, CA

Spacecraft arrives in a satellite pre-launch    preparation room at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA

Spacecraft arrives in a satellite pre-launch preparation room at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA
2 min 2 sec YouTube Video

NASA/Stanford/Lockheed Martin Video Archive

Arrival and preliminary testing� of the GP-B spacecraft in a pre-launch processing room at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA

Pre-launch spacecraft preparations in a clean room at Vandenberg AFB, CA

Pre-launch spacecraft preparations in a clean room at Vandenberg AFB, CA
5 min 42 sec YouTube Video

NASA/Stanford/Lockheed Martin Video Archive

Pre-launch spacecraft preparations, including installation of the 4 solar arrays, and packaging for transport to the launch pad

Preparation of the Boeing Delta II Rocket Fairing at Vandenberg AFB, CA

Preparation of the Boeing Delta II Rocket Fairing at Vandenberg AFB, CA
43 sec YouTube Video

Boeing/NASA Video Archive

Installation of the Boeing Delta II rocket fairing that houses the GP-B spacecraft atop the rocket

Pre-launch preparation of the GP-B spacecraft & Boeing Delta II Rocket at Vandenberg AFB, CA

Pre-launch preparation of the GP-B spacecraft & Boeing Delta II Rocket at Vandenberg AFB, CA
6 min 14 sec YouTube Video

NASA/Stanford/Lockheed Martin/Boeing Video Archive

Erection of the Boeing Delta II rocket stages, installation of the GP-B spacecraft inside the fairing, and removal of the gantry tower in preparation for launch

Vandenberg AFB LaunchDay interview with Francis Everitt

Vandenberg AFB LaunchDay interview with Francis Everitt
8 min 42 sec YouTube Video

NASA Video

NASA Launch Commentator, George Diller interviews Francis Everitt in the VAFB Launch Control Room one hour prior to the GP-B launch

Vandenberg AFB LaunchDay interview with Brad Parkinson

Vandenberg AFB LaunchDay interview with Brad Parkinson
11 min 8 sec YouTube Video

NASA Video

NASA Launch Commentator, George Diller interviews Brad Parkinson in the VAFB Launch Control Room 26 minutes following the GP-B launch

Vandenberg AFB LaunchDay interview with Brad Parkinson

Video from the Stanford Mission Operations Center during the GP-B Launch on April 20, 2004
12 min 15 sec YouTube Video

©2004 Stanford University; Video courtesy Bob Kahn, GP-B Public Affairs

Selected footage, including the final launch countdown and minutes following launch from a stationery video camera in the Stanford Mission Opoerations Center. April 20, 2004

 

Vandenberg AFB LaunchDay interview with Brad Parkinson

GP-B Exhibit at Stanford Community Day, April 10, 2005
3 min 55 sec YouTube Video

©2005 Stanford University; Video courtesy Bob Kahn, GP-B Public Affairs

An overview of public educational demonstrations and hands-on learning activities in the GP-B exhibit at Stanford's annual Communicty Day in 2005

 

Vandenberg AFB LaunchDay interview with Brad Parkinson

Francis Everitt: Invited Talk at the Stanford Aeronautics & Astronautics 50th Anniversary Celebration, May 9, 2008
48 minutes YouTube Video

 

A talk about the engineering challenges and aspects of a physics experiment performed in space-borne satellite and the involvement of students in all phases of the experiment

 

   

News Stories

CBS Evening News Story: Time & Gravity in 2004

CBS Evening News Story: Time & Gravity in 2004
4 min 7 sec YouTube Video

CBS Evening News with John Roberts, December 28, 2003

TV news story on time, gravity, GP-B and string theory

� 2003, CBS News. Video courtesy of CBS News. This video may not be copied or re-distributed.

ABC World News Tonight Story: Scientist Spends    Lifetime on Space Probe

ABC World News Tonight Story: Scientist Spends Lifetime on Space Probe
3 min 19 sec YouTube Video

ABC World News Tonight with Elizabet Vargas, Sunday, April 18, 2004

TV news story on Francis Everitt and GP-B by Ned Potter and Clayton Sandell

� 2004, ABC News. Video courtesy of ABC News. This video may not be copied or re-distributed.

KTVU Television News Story on the GP-B Launch, April 20, 2004

KTVU Television News Story on the GP-B Launch, April 20, 2004
3 min 38 sec YouTube Video

San Franciso Bay Area KTVU 10:00 PM News story with anchor Leslie Griffith, and Health & Science Editor, John Fowler

� 2004 by KTVU.com Video courtesy of KTVU News. This video may not be copied or re-distributed.

NBC11 Television News Story on the GP-B Launch,    April 20, 2004

NBC11 Television News Story on the GP-B Launch, April 20, 2004
2 min 32 sec YouTube Video

San Franciso Bay Area NBC11 Evening News story with anchors Allen Denton & Lisa Kim, and Business & Technology Reporter Scott Budman

� 2004, NBC11.com. Video courtesy of NBC11 News. This video may not be copied or re-distributed.

Comedy Central: The Daily Show Story on Gravity    Probe B

Comedy Central: The Daily Show Story on Gravity Probe B
2 min 15 sec MPEG-4 Video

John Stewart reports on the GP-B Launch, April 28, 2004.

� 2004, Comedy Central. Video courtesy of The Daily Show. This video may not be copied or re-distributed.

Comedy Central: The Daily Show Story on Gravity    Probe B

Stanford News: GP-B Team receives NASA Group Achievement Award
2 min 22 sec YouTube Video

Video by Jack Hubbard, Stanford News Service

© 2005 Stanford University, Stanford News Service

Catalyst Science News Magazine: The Gravity Probe
18 min 11 sec YouTube Video

Australian Broadcasting Co.
November 6, 2009

View Gravity Probe Story on the Catalyst Website

© 2009 by the Australian Broadcasting Company. Video courtesy of ABC Catalyst. This video may not be copied or re-distributed.

   

Audio Files

Francis Everitt�s Plenary Talk at the APS Meeting, 4/14/07

Francis Everitt�s Plenary Talk at the APS Meeting, 4/14/07
1 hour
View/Download PDF file of Everitt's presentation slides

Mac Keiser�s APS Talk, 4/15/07

Mac Keiser�s APS Talk, 4/15/07
20 min
View/Download PDF file of Keiser's presentation slides

Brad Parkinson�s APS Talk, 4/15/07

Brad Parkinson�s APS Talk, 4/15/07
20 min
View/Download PDF file of Parkinson's presentation slides

John Turneaure�s APS Talk, 4/15/07

John Turneaure�s APS Talk, 4/15/07
20 min
View/Download PDF file of Turneaure's presentation slides

Paul Worden�s APS Paper on GP-B Technology Development, 4/14/07

Paul Worden�s APS Paper on GP-B Technology Development, 4/14/07
12 min
View/Download PDF file of Worden's presentation slides

Irwin Shapiro�s APS Paper on the GP-B Guide Star

Irwin Shapiro�s APS Paper on the GP-B Guide Star
12 min
View/Download PDF file of Shapiro's presentation slides

NPR�s David Kestenbaum�s pre-launch interview with Franics Everitt, 4/18/04

NPR�s David Kestenbaum�s pre-launch interview with Franics Everitt, 4/18/04
4 min 30 sec