VANDERBERG AIR BASE, Calif., April 20 (UPI) -- A satellite launched on a Boeing Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Base in California Tuesday will test Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.
The $700-million Gravity Probe B will orbit the Earth for more than a year and its four near-perfect spheres in gyroscopes will help verify two key elements of Einstein's theory, the BBC reported.
The spin axis of the gyroscopes will be monitored for the tiny changes that could be caused by the effects Einstein described in his theories. To ensure accuracy, the spheres must be kept chilled to near absolute zero, and be isolated from any disturbances.
The first element of relativity to be tested is the geodetic effect that proposes any body in space warps local space and time, while the second element of relativity to be tested is that massive objects spinning in space drag local space and time around with them as they rotate.
