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Gravity Probe B

Testing Einstein's Universe

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR WEEK ENDING 13 AUGUST 1999:

STANFORD HIGHLIGHT

The cryogenics team headed by Mike Taber (and which includes Dave Murray, Dave Frank, and Tom Walsh) has begun the insertion of the flight probe into the flight dewar. Leading up to this important step were many checks, inspections, the setting of the BPS system, assembly of probe into the airlock system, weighing of the probe, alignment of the probe wrt the dewar, and finally the purging of the airlock with helium. The probe should be fully inserted into the dewar by early Tuesday morning, August 10th.

Photo: The flight probe being lowered into the Dewar.

SPACE VEHICLE HIGHLIGHT
The Gravity Probe B Electrical Power System team has successfully completed Standard Power Regulator Unit (SPRU) testing to demonstrate static and dynamic solar array power tracking using the Solar Array Simulator. Test results agreed with those performed at the SPRU manufacturer, Engineered Magnetics.
Photo: LMMS engineers Paul Dulgov and Shawky Shehata with the Solar Array Simulator console in B/205.

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