quartz block-black bg  A prototype quartz block on a black background. quartz block2  A prototype quartz block. This view is looking up at the base of the block, with the fixturing flanges protruding from the sides. proto block  Early prototype quartz block with metal sleeves placed in the gyroscope bores. quartz block-telescope  Prototype model of the quartz block and the "bird-cage" fixturing assembly that would hold it in the probe. quartz block-blue bg  Prototype quartz block against a blue background manip  Quartz block mockup used to test the precision manipulator  July 1988 quartz block4  An early version of the Science Instrument Assembly (SIA) being assembled in the class 100 clean room.
probe clean room  View of probe A in the class 1000 clean room. probe-A pump  This is a close-up shot of Probe A's necktube and liquid helium pumping system. Probe A was one of the early probes that were critical to the creation of of our super-conducting gyroscopes. early probe2-hires  Probe C as the main neck tube was being assembled at Lockheed. probe  View of the probe on the precision manipulator, in the class 10 clean room. early probe3-hires  Construction of the thermal baffles along the probe's neck tube. Lockheed based lab. probe valves  Technicians at Lockheed carefully install the dozens of valves that make up the probe's "top hat" section. necktube2  Close-up of a heat-exchange ring on the probe neck tube.
Integration1-hires  The Science Instrument Assembly, comprising the telescope (right) and the quartz block housing the four gyroscopes and SQUIDS. complete sia  The Science Instrument Assembly (SIA) just after completion. All 4 gyroscopes and the telescope have  been integrated within the quartz block probe tophat assembly-hires  Probe tophat and window 4. inspect reynolds  Lockheed Martin entineer, Gary Reynolds inspecting the inside of the top hat during the probe thermal repairs. April 21st, 2000 win3  Looking down into window 3 of the probe. This was part of the thermal repair work performed on the probe April 13th, 2000 probe end2  View of the "rat's nest" wiring inside the top hat of one of the earlier non-flight probes. electrical leads  Electrical leads on the inside of the probe C top hat.
open tophat  Looking  inside the probe's "Top Hat". Several windows have been removed, allowing a clear view down into the probe itself. Cold Window-2  One of the three windows inside that sits inside the probe. P6100130  Outside view of probe window 4 that caps the probe on the tophat. Window4-front  Inside view of probe window 4. end assem  View of the partially assembled probe C. gyro insertion-hires  Three technicians inserting gyros into their housing in the SIA section of the probe at Stanford. probe horiz  John Stamets inspecting the horizontally-tilted GP-B Probe in the Class 10 clean room at Stanford.
probe rotate hires  Stanford's John Stamets and another Stanford technician inspect the probe in a clean room at Stanford. Probe tophat cvr  John Stamets of Stanford removes the cover from window 4 on the probe's tophat in a Stanford clean room. birdcage  Final Integration of the science instrument assembly. The tech is pointing to a series of valves, out of which come the spinup lines that will start the gyroscopes turning. The SQUID readout devices are visible as the 3 small, flat boxes in the bottom right-hand corner. February, 1995 probe check  A tech carefully inspects the wiring and staking on the flight probe. Each bolt is wired and epoxied down to prevent it from coming loose during launch. quartz block with gyros  The Science Instrument Assembly (SIA) just after completion. All 4 gyroscopes and the telescope have  been integrated within the quartz block Sia-SQUIDS-Gyros-hires2  Closeup of the SIA showing two of the four gryos and SQUIDS. SIA-SQUIDs-Gyros  Closeup of the SIA showing two SQUIDs, with two gyros (left) and probe wiring.
blue probe  Paul Ayres of Lockheed Martin works on the complicated valve system that makes up the "Top Hat" of probe C. probe-hires  View of probe C being assembled by Paul Ayres at Lockheed Martin. SIA integ  The Science Instrument Assembly (SIA) is carefully slid into it's fixture on Probe C. The whole procedure was performed in a class ten clean room on a specially manufactured mounting and manuevering system. vac can insert2  A prototype probe is lowered into its hermetically sealed case to isolate the Science Instrument Assembly. probe1  Russ Leese is shown next to probe C, mounted on the "piston". probe piston  View of the top hat, heat exchange rings and neck baffles of probe C, prior to dewar insertion. probe wrapped  Probe C wrapped and ready for transport into FISTOPs.
hanging probe  Probe C suspended from the ceiling of FISTOPs. greenlight inspect  Ken Bower uses a green laser in a Stanford clean room to inspect the probe before it is inserted into its vacuum sealed casing. greenlight closeup  Closeup of Stanford's Ken Bower inspecting  the probe before inserting it into its vacuum sealed casing. Vac can insert  Looking up at the end of the probe as it is positioned in place. The lower rings will hold the vacumn can that the probe will be slid into. dewar  The Science Mission Dewar (SMD),  integrated with the probe, being lifted out of its tilt dolly. tophat  View of Probe C's top hat, after insertion into the flight dewar.