Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009iau...261.1402r&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, IAU Symposium #261. Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy: Dynamics, Reference Frames, and Data Ana
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Satellite laser ranging (SLR) is the measurement of the round-trip light time of ultra-short laser pulses to satellites deploying specifically designed retroreflectors. The ranging data are used to determine cm-precision satellite orbits, temporal variations in the Earth's gravity field, mm/yr accuracy determinations of station motion on a global scale, and fundamental physical constants. The SLR stations form an important part of the international network of space geodetic observatories that define and maintain the International Terrestrial Reference System.
Starting in 1964, the precision of satellite laser ranging has improved from a few meters to a few mm for the better stations. With a measurement accuracy better than the part-per-billion level, the effects General Relativity must be considered. These include additional perturbations to the orbit dynamics, corrections to the round-trip light-time computation, and fundamental aspects of space-time in the definition of the geocentric reference frame. While these effects are significant, they are generally not large enough to provide useful tests of General Relativity. An important exception, however, is the relativistic prediction of the Lense-Thirring orbit precession, i.e the effect of `frame-dragging’ on the satellite orbit due to the spinning Earth's mass.
While the signal is large enough to be easily observed with satellite laser ranging, the Lense-Thirring measurement uncertainty is limited by the knowledge of the even zonal harmonics of the Earth's gravity field that also produce Newtonian secular orbit precessions. However, this problem has been overcome with the dramatically improved models resulting from the joint NASA-DLR Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission. Using laser ranging to the LAGEOS satellites, it is possible to confirm the General Relativity prediction of the Lense-Thirring precession with an uncertainty better than 15%.
This research was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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