Posted: Tue, Nov 18, 2003, 7:16 AM ET (1216 GMT)
The launch of a mission to test Einstein's theory of general relativity will be delayed because of a spacecraft problem, NASA announced late Monday. Gravity Probe B (GP-B) was scheduled to launch on December 6 on a Delta 2 booster from VAndenberg Air Force Base, California. However, project officials decided to delay the launch because of a problem with a gyroscope on the spacecraft. The length of the launch delay won't be known for about a week, but Spaceflight Now reported that the launch would be delayed until at least early 2004. GP-B, a mission whose initial concept dates back 40 years, is designed to provide experimental confirmation of phenomena predicted by Einstein's general relativity theory, notably how the Earth's mass and rotation distort spacetime.

Related Links:

•  NASA/KSC press release
•  Spaceflight Now article