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Delta II | Gravity Probe B

Gravity Probe B

Launch Successful

Launch Details

Date: 20 Apr 2004, 04:57 pm UTC

Rocket: Delta II (Delta)

Provider: United States Air Force

Mission

Type: Astrophysics

Orbit: Low Earth Orbit

Pad: Space Launch Complex 2W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Mission Description

Gravity Probe B (GP-B) was a satellite-based experiment to test two unverified predictions of general relativity: the geodetic effect and frame-dragging. This was to be accomplished by measuring, very precisely, tiny changes in the direction of spin of four gyroscopes contained in an Earth-orbiting satellite at 650 km (400 mi) altitude, crossing directly over the poles.