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GP-B Post-Flight Analysis—Final Report - Gravity Probe B - Stanford ...

GP-B Post-Flight Analysis—Final Report - Gravity Probe B - Stanford ...

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21 MAY 2004—MISSION UPDATE: DAY 31One month into the mission, all spacecraft subsystems are continuingto perform well. The spacecraft’s orbit remains stable and meets ourrequirements for next month’s transition into the science phase of themission, upon completion of the spacecraft initialization and orbitcheckout. The four gyroscopes are suspended, and we have indicationsthat they are rotating slightly in their housings.Last weekend, the team successfully performed a procedure to reducemagnetic flux that had built up around the gyroscope rotors (spheres).Magnetic flux is a measure of the number of magnetic field linespenetrating a surface. To ensure that the SQUID readouts receiveclean signals from the gyroscopes and to provide the highest possibledegree of accuracy during the <strong>GP</strong>-B science experiment, any magneticflux around the gyroscope rotors must be minimized.We reduce magnetic flux by turning on heaters and flowing heliumgas, warmed to 10 Kelvin, through the <strong>Probe</strong>. This process also drivesoff any residual helium remaining in the well of the dewar, where the<strong>Probe</strong> sits. The flux reduction procedure went smoothly, and when itwas completed, the level of trapped flux remaining within the gyroswas almost imperceptible. In fact, gyroscope #4, which previously hadthe highest amount of trapped magnetic flux of all the gyros now hasthe lowest level.The flux reduction procedure added heat to the dewar, therebyincreasing the pressure inside to its maximum allowable level. Theincreased pressure during this stress period caused some of thespacecraft’s micro thrusters to become unstable, resulting in thespacecraft pointing in the wrong direction and triggering a“safemode.”still on track for completion within 60 days after launch, at which timethe 13-month science data collection will begin. This will be followedby a two-month final calibration of the science instrument assembly.28 MAY 2004—MISSION UPDATE: DAY 38At five weeks past launch, the <strong>Gravity</strong> <strong>Probe</strong> B team is now about halfway through the Initialization and Orbit Checkout (IOC) phase of themission. Thus far, the team has successfully transmitted over 5,000commands to the spacecraft, which remains healthy on orbit. Allspacecraft subsystems are continuing to perform well. The spacecraft’sorbit is stable, meeting our requirements for next month’s transitioninto the science phase of the mission. All four gyros are now digitallysuspended, and the team is in the process of locking the on-boardtelescope onto the guide star, IM Pegasi.This past week, the team began spinning up the gyros. During thiscomplex and delicate process, which spans the entire second half ofIOC, each of the four gyros undergoes a series of spin-up and testingsequences, the first of which gets the gyros spinning—but at a veryslow speed. Because the correct performance of the gyros is critical tothe success of the experiment, the team is proceeding through thespin-up process slowly, painstakingly monitoring and checking theperformance of the gyros throughout the process.In preparation for spin-up, the digital suspension system for each gyrowas first tested. This was accomplished by suspending each gyro in thecenter of its housing, electrically “nudging” it slightly off center in oneof eight directions (the corners of a cube), and monitoring itsautomatic re-centering. This checkout was first performed under lowvoltage conditions (fine control) and then under high voltageconditions (secure hold). Photo: The Forward GSS unit prior toinstallation and flight, circa May 2001.To begin the actual spin-up process, ultra-pure helium gas was flowedover gyro #1 and gyro #4 for 15 seconds, which started them spinningat approximately 0.125 Hz (7.5 rpm). While these gyros were slowlyspinning, the suspension test was repeated under high voltageconditions on gyros #2 and #3. During this high voltage suspensiontest on gyro #3, the team discovered an error in its command template,which turned off the high voltage amplifier to gyro #1 and caused it tolose suspension. There was no damage to gyro#1.The 16 micro thrusters are arranged in clusters of four, and localfeedback loops within each cluster enable the thrusters tocommunicate with each other and automatically adjust their flowrates. Ground commands were issued to isolate the unstable thrusters,which resolved the thruster cross-talk issue and enabled the spacecraftto re-orient itself. The thrusters are now functioning properly, thespacecraft’s attitude has been corrected, and it is once again pointingtowards the guide star.The flux reduction operation and subsequent thruster instability andattitude problems has delayed locking the spacecraft onto the guidestar, which will be our next major activity. While we have used upsome of the contingency days built into the Initialization & OrbitCheckout (IOC) schedule, this phase of the <strong>Gravity</strong> <strong>Probe</strong> B mission isMore than 1,000 commands have now been sent to the GyroSuspension System (GSS), and this was the first error found.Discovering an error in these numerous, intricate command templateswas exactly the kind of situation that the painstaking gyro spin-upprocess was designed to identify; it enabled the team to correct thecommand template for gyro #3 without serious consequences. Also, asa further precaution, the team has thoroughly reviewed the commandtemplates for the remaining three gyros. Gyros #2 and #3 have nowbeen spun-up to 0.26 Hz (15 rpm) and 0.125 Hz (7.5 rpm) respectivelywithout incident, and gyro #1 is currently being spun-up, as well.Over the past week, much progress has been made towards the goal oflocking the spacecraft’s on-board telescope onto the guide star. Thepointing error of the spacecraft has been reduced to within 385 arcseconds(0.11 degrees). This allows the on-board telescope to see theguide star over a portion of a spacecraft roll cycle. The team is in theprocess of fine-tuning the spacecraft’s attitude by adjusting thenavigational gyroscope in the Attitude and Translation Control (ATC)system, so that the telescope will be able to see the guide starthroughout the entire spacecraft roll cycle, and the team hopes to lockonto the guide star by the beginning of next week.<strong>Gravity</strong> <strong>Probe</strong> B — <strong>Post</strong> <strong>Flight</strong> Analysis • Final <strong>Report</strong> March 2007 475

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