Press & Media

GP-B Program Overview, Detailed Summary and Fact Sheet

GP-B in a Nutshell

"GP-B in a Nutshell" is a two-page PDF document that provides a concise overview of the program, briefly summarizing its history, the flight mission and experiment, the science and technology, spinoffs, and program status as of mid-2008.

• View/Download PDF copy of GP-B in a Nutshell (3.5 MB)

Preface, Executive Summary & Quick Facts (from GP-B Final Report to NASA)

This 28-page document covers the same content as the GP-B in a Nutshell overview above, but in much greater detail. This document was excerpted and assembled from the 630-page GP-B Post-Flight Analysis, Final Report to NASA.

• View/Download PDF copy of GP-B Preface, Executive Summary & Quick Facts (7 MB)

NASA GP-B Fact Sheet

This is a standard NASA Fact Sheet summarizing the GP-B experiment and mission. The original four-page version was prepared prior to launch and included in a GP-B Press Kit package. In 2005, while the GP-B flight mission was well underway, this fact sheet was updated and augmented to six pages. This document, while accurate, is less up-to-date than either the Nutshell or Executive Summary described above.

• View/Download PDF copy of the GP-B/NASA Fact Sheet (540 KB)

 

GP-B Pre-Launch Press Kit

This 68-page electronic press kit was developed for distribution to the press and media during the GP-B spacecraft launch in April 2004. As of 2008, the science and technology sections of this press kit are still valid, but other parts, such as media contacts and media services information are now out of date and/or invalid.

• View/download a PDF copy of the GP-B Pre-Launch Electronic Press Kit (3 MB)
• Download a Microsoft Word copy of the GP-B Pre-Launch Electronic Press Kit (8 MB)

GP-B Press Releases & News Stories

Because GP-B has been a joint collaboration between Stanford University, NASA and Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space Company, at various milestones in the program's history, each of these institutions has issued its own news releases and/or news stories. The lists of presss releases and news stories below are thus organized by institution and by date in reverse chronological order.

GP-B Presss Releases from Stanford News Service

• April 16, 2007 — Beyond theory, space mission pushes frontiers of human possibility, engineering
• April 14th, 2007 — "Was Einstein right? Scientists provide first public peek at Gravity Probe B results."
• April 5, 2006 — Gravity Probe B know-how plows into Space Technology Hall of Fame
• December 6, 2005 — NASA gives Gravity Probe B team scientific achievement award
• October 3, 2005 — Putting relativity to the test, NASA's Gravity Probe B experiment is one step away from revealing if Einstein was right
• May 9, 2005 — Gravity Probe B mission, testing Einstein's theory of gravity, completes first year in space
• May 9, 2005 — Stanford physicist Francis Everitt awarded NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal
• April 20th, 2004 — "Outta here! After four Earth-bound decades, gravity experiment launches"
• April 19th, 2004 — "MEDIA ADVISORY: Gravity Probe B launch scrubbed, rescheduled for tomorrow"
• Feb 18, 2004 — "Parkinson inducted to National Inventors Hall of Fame"
• December 4th, 1996 — "Gravity probe B project receives first flight hardware"
• August 16th, 1995 — "Congressmen take hands-on tour of research projects"
• October 18th, 1994 — "Successful test of satellite-based landing system may open new era in aircraft navigation"
• October 13th, 1993 — "Stanford awards $100 million subcontract for test of Einstein's theory"
• November 16th, 1993 — "To test Einstein's theory, first convince Congress"

GP-B News Stories from Stanford News Service

• April 16, 2007 — Was Einstein right? A peek at results of Gravity Probe B
• April 16, 2007 — Beyond theory, space mission pushes frontiers of human possibility, engineering
• April 5, 2006 — GPS scientists to land in Hall of Fame
• December 6, 2005 — Gravity Probe B scientists receive award for their work (Stanford News Video Story
• December 6, 2005 — NASA gives Gravity Probe B staffers award for stellar science achievements
• October 12, 2005 — Gravity Probe-B data collection ends: Was Einstein correct?
• May 11, 2005 — A year in the life of Gravity Probe B
• May 11, 2005 — Experimental physicist Everitt wins NASA service medal
• September 22, 2004 — Gravity Probe B mission enters science phase
• April 21, 2004 — T-minus 45 years: Gravity Probe B finally launches
• April 21, 2004 — Gravity Probe B Launches (Stanford News Video Story)
• November 6, 2003 — Gravity Probe B Countdown Begins (Stanford News Video Story)
• February 19, 2002 — GPS pioneer Bradford Parkinson awarded Draper Prize in engineering

 

NASA Press Releases and News Stories About GP-B

• October 13, 2005 — Gravity Probe B completes data collection (Marshall Star News Story—PDF format)
• October 3, 2005 — NASA'S Gravity Probe B Mission Completes Data Collection
• September 7, 2004 — NASA Gravity Probe B mission enters science phase, ready to test Einstein's theory
• May 28, 2004 — Gravity Probe B mission status report
• April 20, 2004 — "NASA Successfully Launches Gravity Probe B Mission"
• April 20, 2004 — "Gravity Probe B Launched"
• April 19, 2004 — "Gravity Probe B Launch Postponed for 24 hours"
• April 19, 2004 — NASA announces Gravity Probe B launch>
• April 2, 2004 — "World's Most Precise Gyroscopes Ready to Test Einstein Theory"
• March 30, 2004 — "NASA Announces Gravity Probe B Mission Press Briefing"
• October 21, 2003 — "Gravity Probe B To Test Einstein's Theory of Relativity"
• July 11, 2003 — "Spacecraft for NASA mission to test Einstein's theory arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site"

Lockheed Martin Press Releasses and News Stories About GP-B

• June/July 2004 — Gravity Probe B launched successfully (Lockheed Martin Space Systems—New Horizons Newsletter)
• April 2nd, 2004— "Lockheed Martin-Built Gravity Probe B Spacecraft Readied For Launch "
• "Gravity Probe B Relativity Mission" (Project Description)

Selected Newspaper, Magazine and Television Feature Stories About GP-B

Following are links to selected feature stories about GP-B that have appeared in major newspapers and magazines over the years. In those cases where we have been granted permission to reproduce a story, the link will go to a local PDF or Flash video file that you can view or download. All other links go to the respective Web sites of the newspaper, magazine or television network in which the story was published. Note that over time, some of these links may become invalid due to Web site revisions.

• July/August 2009, Stanford Magazine — Tracking Einstein: Gravity Probe B approaches its final stage by Michael Antounucci
• June 17, 2009, Australian Broadcasting Company Catalyst Science Program — Gravity Probe with reporter, Jonica Newby
  (Note: The Catalyst web site contains both the 20-minute video program and a transcript of the narration.)
• February 17, 2009, New York Times, Science Times (Online)— Perseverance Is Paying Off for a Test of Relativity in Space by Guy Gugliotta
• October 2008, IEEE Spectrum Magazine (Online) — The Gravity Probe B Bailout by Paul Wesson and Mark Anderson
• January 2008, Astronomy Magazine—Top Ten Space Stories of 2007, Story #1: Putting Einstein to the Test by Francis Reddy(Note: The online version of this story is only available to subscribers)
• April 18, 2007, American Institute of Physics, Physics News—Gravity Probe B Update by Phil Schewe & Ben Stein
• April 2007, New Scientist—Gravity Probe Measures Earth's Dent in Spacetime by Valerie Jamieson
• July 2005, Sky & Telescope—Putting Einstein to the Test by Amanda Gefter (Note: Abstract free; PDF of full article available for purchase)
• March 2005, Natural History—Testing Einstein (Again) by Arthur Fisher
• September 2004, Discover Magazine—Testing the Limits of Einstein's Theories
• by Robert Kunzig>
• April 20, 2004, Science @ NASA — In Search of Gravitomagnetism: Gravity Probe B has left Earth to measure a subtle yet long-sought force of Nature by Tony Phillips
• April 13, 2004, New York Times—A Wrinkle in Space-Time by Dennis Overbye
• March/April 1997, Stanford Today Online — The Relative Proof: Stanford Puts Einstein to the Test by Robert Lee Hotz
• March 1997, Discover Magazine — The Gravity Probe by Gary Taubes (PDF)

GP-B Photos & Artwork

The Image Gallery on this Web site contains a comprehensive collection of GP-B photos and artwork. The images have been categorized (e.g. gyroscope photos, spacecraft photos, facilities, photos, drawings & illustrations, etc.). The images for each category were then grouped into albums. Many of the photos and drawing are captioned. All of the photos and images in the GP-B Image Gallery may be downloaded at no charge and used in news and media stories, publications and for educational purposes.

All of of the photos and images in the gallery are displayed in low-resolution (72 dots-per-inch) format, optimized for Web viewing. However, most—but not all—of the images were originally created in high-resolution (200-600 dots-per-inch) format, and in these cases, you can download the full-resolution version by clicking the disk icon button in the lower right corner of the image display window.

GP-B Animations and Media Files

Our Media Gallery contains a sizeable collection of animations, video clips and audio clips from a variety of sources. As noted below, some of the files in this gallery may be downloaded for your own use, and you may acquire some of the video in this gallery from other sources as indicated. The commercial news stories displayed in this gallery are copyrighted respectively by the news organizations that created them, and they may not be copied or downloaded.

Animations

All of the animations and video clips in the Media Gallery are stored in Adobe Flash Video format for viewing in a Web browser, and as such are not downloadable. However, all of the animation files—with the exception of the gyro polhode animation—are also stored in both MPEG-4 (H.264) and Windows Media (WMV) format. If you wish to download and use these animations, you will find links for downloading the MPEG-4 and WMV versions below their respective descriptions in the Animations section of the Media Gallery Index page.

Testing Einstein's Universe Movie and Extracted Video Clips

The movie, Testing Einstein's Universe, and the clips extracted from it are copyrighted by Professor Norbert Bartel. If you wish to acquire and use any footage from this movie, you must contact Professor Bartel to obtain permission and a copy of the video file:

Pre-Launch Press Conference, Movie and B-Roll Video Clips

All of the remaining video clips in the Media Gallery—with the exception of Francis Everitt's May 2006 lecture, the 2005 Stanford Community Day video, and the commercial news stories—came from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters and/or Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space Company. Specifically, the video footage from the GP-B Pre-Launch Press Conference and the GP-B spacecraft launch footage was provided by NASA Headquarters. The Launch Commemorative movie and all of the B-Roll footage was provided by the Television Studio at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. If you wish to obtain a copy of any of this video, please contact the Television Department at NASA Headquarters or Marshall Space Flight Center.

Audio Files

The audio files in the Media Gallery are all stored in MP3 format, and they may be played through a Web browser or downloaded for play on an MP3 player or iPod.