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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 ...

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

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In May 2005, Novariant’s Autofarm technology was inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame, andindividual awards were given to Cohen and several colleagues at Novariant, along with Parkinson and<strong>Stanford</strong>’s <strong>GP</strong>-B and Hansen Experimental Physics Lab (HEPL) for their role in supporting this technologydevelopment.Less tangible, but perhaps most important, the <strong>Gravity</strong> <strong>Probe</strong> B program has had a profound effect on the livesand careers of numerous faculty and students—both graduate and undergraduate, and even high schoolstudents, at <strong>Stanford</strong> University and other educational institutions. Nearly 100 Ph.D. dissertations have beenwritten on various aspects of this program, and <strong>GP</strong>-B alumni include the first woman astronaut, the CEO of amajor aerospace company, professors at Harvard, Princeton, <strong>Stanford</strong> and elsewhere, and a recent NobelLaureate in Physics.2.2 Spacecraft LaunchFigure 2-16. Photos of the <strong>GP</strong>-B Launch on April 20, 2004The <strong>GP</strong>-B Space Vehicle launched on Tuesday, 20 April 2004, at 09:57:24 PDT. Following a smooth countdown,with excellent meteorological conditions, the <strong>GP</strong>-B spacecraft launched from the Launch Pad SLC-2W atVandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California aboard a Delta II 7920-10 rocket into a polar circular orbit of640 km (400 mile) altitude. The Command/Control Computer Assembly (CCCA), Command and DataHandling (CDH) subsystem, and Attitude & Translation Control (ATC) electronics were powered on prior tolaunch, and command and telemetry links were established from the Mission Operations Center (MOC) at<strong>Stanford</strong> University when the fairing separated, five minutes after launch.<strong>Gravity</strong> <strong>Probe</strong> B — <strong>Post</strong> <strong>Flight</strong> Analysis • Final <strong>Report</strong> March 2007 43

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