Abstract

It is estimated that today several hundred operational satellites are orbiting Earth while many more either have already reentered the atmosphere or are no longer operational. On the 13th of February 2012 one more satellite of the Italian Space Agency has been successfully launched. The main difference with respect to all other satellites is its extremely high density that makes LARES not only the densest satellite but also the densest known orbiting object in the solar system. That implies that the nongravitational perturbations on its surface will have the smallest effects on its orbit. Those design characteristics are required to perform an accurate test of frame dragging and specifically a test of Lense-Thirring effect, predicted by General Relativity. LARES satellite, although passive, with 92 laser retroreflectors on its surface, was a real engineering challenge in terms of both manufacturing and testing. Data acquisition and processing are in progress. The paper will describe the scientific objectives, the status of the experiment, the special feature of the satellite and separation system including some manufacturing issues, and the special tests performed on its retroreflectors.

Autore Pugliese

• Ciufolini Ignazio

Tutti gli autori

• A. Paolozzi , I. Ciufolini , C. Paris , G. Sindoni

Titolo volume/Rivista

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Anno di pubblicazione

2015

ISSN

1687-5966

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Scopus

23

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

28/04/2018

Settori ERC

Non Disponibile

Codici ASJC

Non Disponibile