12.07.2015 Views

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

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

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

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS
  • No tags were found...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

indicate that we have reduced the time it takes to re-lock onto theguide star from as much as 15 minutes to less than a minute. We havealso increased the number of reference stars seen by the star trackerfrom 3 to 8.Next week we will be performing a few final operations prior tobeginning taking science data. The most significant operation left to beperformed is the spin axis alignment of each gyro. This is performedusing the Gyro Suspension System in a special oscillation mode toslowly align each gyro spin axis to be in nearly perfect alignment withthe guide star. Having the gyros aligned at the beginning of themission makes any precession caused by general relativity simpler tomeasure. We are nearly complete aligning the spin axis of gyros #2 and#4 and plan to align #3 and #1 next week. Another operation for nextweek is to perform a final bake-out operation to remove any residualhelium molecules from around the gyros. This operation is performedby heating up the instrument area slightly (to approximately 6 degreesKelvin), which will cause residual helium to migrate to a collectordevice in the <strong>Probe</strong>. And finally, the final operation prior to science isto command the spacecraft to begin drag-free operations.6 AUGUST 2004—GRAVITY PROBE B MISSIONUPDATE: DAY 108<strong>Gravity</strong> <strong>Probe</strong> B has nearly completed the Initial On-Orbit CalibrationPhase of the Mission. Last week we completed the fast speed spin-upof all four gyros. This week we completed the low temperature bakeoutof the <strong>Probe</strong> and expect to complete spin axis alignment of the finaltwo gyroscopes this weekend. Prior to starting the Science Phase of theMission, we decided to increase the roll rate of the spacecraftfrom.52rpm to .75rpm which will improve the accuracy of theexperiment and minimize the risk of achieving a good measurement inthe event of a shortened mission. We plan to increase the roll rate earlynext week. At that point we will transition to the Science Phase of themission.The low temperature bakeout operation was done in order tominimize the pressure inside the vacuum probe. The resulting lowpressure, or ultra-high vacuum, is required to minimize the spindownrate and torques on the gyroscopes. The low temperature bakeoutprocess involved heating the <strong>Probe</strong> to approximately 6-7 degreesKelvin while the <strong>Probe</strong> was open to the vacuum of space. This allowedexcess helium gas to escape to space. The probe was then closed tospace and the heaters turned off. The probe temperature then returnedto its nominal value and the remaining helium was adsorbed into thecryopump. The cryopump is a passive device made of sinteredtitanium, which has a very large adsorbing area. <strong>GP</strong>-B’s lowtemperature bakeout process created pressure inside the vacuumprobe less than one thousandth that of space.We continued to perform spin axis alignment of the gyroscopes thisweek. This is performed using the Gyro Suspension System in a specialoscillation mode to slowly align each gyro spin axis to be in nearlyperfect alignment with the guide star. Having the gyros aligned at thebeginning of the mission makes any precession caused by generalrelativity simpler to measure. Thus far, we've completed the alignmentof gyro #1 and #2. Gyro's #3 and #4 should be completed this weekend.After much analysis and discussion this week we decided to increasespacecraft roll rate during the science mission from .52 rpm to .75rpm. A .75 rpm roll rate minimizes the risk of events which mightoccur that could cause degradation to the accuracy of the mission. Inaddition, by combining the factors that influence gyro accuracy andguide star acquisition, this relatively small increase in roll rate shouldproduce a ~20% improvement in the overall accuracy of theexperiment. We expect to perform this operation beginning Monday.Assuming success, we then will begin drag-free operation with thestart of the Science Mission Phase later next week.13 AUGUST 2004—GRAVITY PROBE B MISSIONUPDATE: DAY 115On day #115 of the mission, <strong>Gravity</strong> <strong>Probe</strong> B is within a week ofcompleting Initialization and Orbit Checkout (IOC) and making thetransition into the Science Phase of the mission. The spacecraft is inexcellent health, and all subsystems are performing well. Thespacecraft's roll rate is stable at 0.75 rpm, and final testing of drag-freeorbital flight and fine-tuning of the Attitude and Translation Controlsystem (ATC) is nearing completion. All four gyros are digitallysuspended and spinning at science mission speeds, ranging from61.8Hz (3,708 rpm) to 82.1 Hz (4,926 rpm). The spin axes of Gyros #1and #3 have been aligned with the science telescope's sighting axis,which is locked onto the guide star, IM Pegasi, and these gyros havecompleted the transition to science data collection mode. Spin axisalignment is continuing on Gyros #2 and #4, which are expected totransition to science mode over the next few days.This past Monday, August 9, 2004, we successfully increased thespacecraft's roll rate from 0.52 rpm to 0.75 rpm. In last week'shighlights, we noted that the decision to do this was made “after muchanalysis and discussion,” triggering a number of email inquiries aboutthe risks of increasing the roll rate. Three main issues influenced thisdecision: First, increasing the roll rate requires more fine-tuning of theATC system, which would delay the transition into Science mode by afew more days. Second, because the star trackers used by the ATC aremounted on the sides of the spacecraft, an increase in roll rate meansthat the star trackers must perform their pattern-matching on a fastermoving field of stars. Third, there was a concern that any effects ofmass imbalances in the spacecraft might be exaggerated at a faster rollrate. In the end, we decided that the ~20% improvement inexperimental accuracy outweighed these risks. All systems areperforming correctly at the increased roll rate, and the only downsidewas a small delay in our transition to the Science phase of the mission.Also this past week, we have flown the spacecraft in both primary andback-up drag-free modes, using Gyro #1 as the proof mass(spacecraft's center of mass). Primary drag-free mode relies solely onthe micro thrusters to create a drag-free orbit around the proof massgyro, whereas in back-up drag-free mode, the ATC uses suspensionforce data from the Gyro Suspension System (GSS) of the proof massgyro to “steer” the spacecraft so that residual GSS forces are nullifiedor canceled on this gyroscope. Either primary or back-up drag-freemode can be used in the Science Phase of the mission. However, theresidual voltages applied by the GSS to suspend the drag-free gyro adda very small, but acceptable, amount of noise to the gyro signal inback-up drag-free mode, so the primary mode is preferable, all otherthings being equal.In fact, early in July, we had selected back-up drag-free mode as thenominal mode for the Science Phase of the mission because at thattime, when the gyros were spinning very slowly, back-up mode wasyielding better results than the primary mode. However, now that thegyros are spinning at full speed, primary drag-free mode is yielding thebest results, as originally anticipated, so it will be the nominal modefor drag-free operation during the Science Phase of the mission. Thereason for this performance difference is that while the <strong>GP</strong>-B gyrorotors (spheres) are the roundest objects ever manufactured, they arenot perfectly spherical. The GSS is capable of controlling the positionof the gyros to a level of one nanometer. However, some of the482 March 2007 Appendix C — Weekly Chronicle of the <strong>GP</strong>-B Mission

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!