Comparison of LARES 1 and LARES 2 missions - one year after the launch

I. Ciufolini; A. Paolozzi; E. Ortore; C. Paris; E.C. Pavlis; J.C. Ries; R. Matzner

doi:10.21741/9781644902813-123

Comparison of LARES 1 and LARES 2 missions – one year after the launch

Ignazio Ciufolini, Antonio Paolozzi, Emiliano Ortore, Claudio Paris, Erricos C. Pavlis, John C. Ries, Richard Matzner

Abstract. The LARES 1 and LARES 2 missions were designed to test an intriguing phenomenon predicted by the theory of general relativity: the Lense-Thirring (frame-dragging) effect. In particular, the LARES 2 mission was designed with the goal of reaching an accuracy 10 times better than that obtained with LARES 1, launched 10 years earlier. To reach this demanding goal a special orbit and a specific satellite design was required. Knowledge of the gravitational field of Earth of ever-increasing accuracy, thanks to the Follow-on GRACE space mission together with the spectacular orbital injection accuracy provided by the Avio-ASI-ESA launcher VEGA C, will make possible an even better accuracy after a few years of data analysis. In this paper the two missions are compared along with the results obtained from the LARES 1 mission and those expected from LARES 2.

Keywords
LARES 2, Satellite Design, Laser Ranging, General Relativity, Frame-Dragging

Published online 11/1/2023, 4 pages
Copyright © 2023 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA

Citation: Ignazio Ciufolini, Antonio Paolozzi, Emiliano Ortore, Claudio Paris, Erricos C. Pavlis, John C. Ries, Richard Matzner, Comparison of LARES 1 and LARES 2 missions – one year after the launch, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 37, pp 563-566, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644902813-123

The article was published as article 123 of the book Aeronautics and Astronautics

Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.

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