Gravity Gradiometry from the Tethered Satellite System

Measurement of the gradient of the gravitational acceleration from a satellite platform is likely to provide the next improvement in knowledge of the Earth's gravity field after the upcoming Geopotential Research Mission (GRM). Observations from the subsatellite of a Tethered Satellite System (TSS) would increase sensitivity and resolution due to the low altitude possible. However, the TSS is a dynamically "noisy" system and would be perturbed by atmospheric drag fluctuations. The dynamic noise is being modeled in order to evaluate the feasibility of TSS gradiometry and to design methods of abating the error caused by this noise. The demonstration flights of the TSS will provide an opportunity to directly observe the dynamical environment and refine modeling techniques.