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Article: Dizzy.(Gravity Probe B spacecraft)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- June 10, 1995
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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GRAVITY Probe B is one of the wonders of the age. It is a spacecraft designed to study a hitherto untested aspect of the general theory of relativity, Einstein's most profound contribution to human thought. It uses unique technologies to make measurements of extreme precision. Its launch into orbit will mark the culmination of decades of basic research, technology development and, more recently, political lobbying. It may be the most ambitious, and most expensive, single scien-tific experiment of the century. And yet many scientists oppose it.
The opposition's voice was raised in a recent report by a panel of America's National Research Council. Though in the end, ...