LAGEOS-type satellites in critical supplementary orbit configuration and the Lense-Thirring effect detection

Authors: Iorio L.1; Lucchesi D.2

Source: Classical and Quantum Gravity, Volume 20, Number 13, 2003 , pp. 2477-2490(14)

Publisher: Institute of Physics Publishing

Key:
Free Content - Free Content
New Content - New Content
Subscribed Content - Subscribed Content
Free Trial Content - Free Trial Content

Abstract:

In this paper we analyse quantitatively the concept of LAGEOS-type satellites in critical supplementary orbit configuration (CSOC) which has proved capable of yielding various observables for many tests of general relativity in the terrestrial gravitational field, with particular emphasis on the measurement of the Lense-Thirring effect. By using an entirely new pair of LAGEOS-type satellites in identical, supplementary orbits with, e.g., semimajor axes a 12 000 km, eccentricity e 0.05 and inclinations iS1 63.4° and iS2 116.6°, it would be possible to cancel out the impact of the mismodelling of the static part of the gravitational field of the Earth to a very high level of accuracy. The departures from the ideal supplementary orbital configuration due to the orbital injection errors would yield systematic gravitational errors of the order of a few per cent, according to the covariance matrix of the EGM96 gravity model up to degree l 20. However, the forthcoming, new gravity models from the CHAMP and GRACE missions should greatly improve the situation. So, it should be possible to measure the gravitomagnetic shifts of the sum of their nodes LT with an accuracy level perhaps less than 1%, of the difference of their perigees LT with an accuracy level of 5% and of LTLT - LT with an accuracy level of 2.8%. Such results, which are due to the non-gravitational perturbations mismodelling, have been obtained for an observational time span of about 6 years and could be further improved by fitting and removing from the analysed time series the major time-varying perturbations which have known periodicities.

Language: English

Document Type: Miscellaneous

Affiliations: 1: Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Università di Bari, Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari, Italy 2: Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario, IFSI/CNR, Via Fosso del Cavaliere n. 100,00133 Roma, Italy

The full text electronic article is available for purchase. You will be able to download the full text electronic article after payment.

$42.18 plus tax      Refund Policy

 

OR

Back to top

Key:
Free Content - Free Content
New Content - New Content
Subscribed Content - Subscribed Content
Free Trial Content - Free Trial Content
Share this item with others: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Page Help Click here for Page Help
Shopping cart
Tools
Sign in






Need to register?
Sign up here
Text size: A | A | A | A