From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Wed Mar 05 2003 - 11:46:03 PST
This article is also available on the web at:
http://www.spacetoday.net/getsummary.php?id=1536 .
Gravity Probe B faces delays, possible cancellation
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Posted: Tue, Mar 4 11:01 PM ET (0401 GMT)
Gravity Probe B, a NASA mission to test Einstein's theory of
relativity that has been more than four decades in the
making, faces a launch delay of several months as well as an
agency review that could lead to the project's cancellation,
SPACE.com reported Tuesday. The spacecraft, which was
scheduled to launch this summer on a Delta 2, will likely be
delayed until November because of spacecraft problems
discovered during a thermal vacuum test. The test found
that there were several blown fuses on the spacecraft;
components affected by the blown fuses have been sent to a
subcontractor on the project for repairs. The problem is
the latest setback for the mission, whose launch was
scheduled for 2000 but has been delayed by several problems
that have cost NASA more than $100 million. Ed Weiler, NASA
associate administrator for space science, said he has
commissioned two independent reviews of the mission, which
should be completed by April. The reviews will consider the
merits of continuing the mission and the cost impact the
repairs and delays will have on NASA's overall space science
program: each month's delay costs the agency $4-5 million.
The mission, designed to test Einstein's general theory of
relativity, has been under study by Stanford University
since 1962, and has been funded by NASA in one form or
another since 1964. The total cost of the mission is
expected to exceed $570 million.
Related Links:
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SPACE.com article:
http://space.com/missionlaunches/grav_probe_b_030304.html
Gravity Probe B web site:
http://einstein.stanford.edu/
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