Lasers, Clocks and Drag-Free Control: Exploration of Relativistic Gravity in Space (Astrophysics and Space Science Library, 349)

Over the next decade the gravitational physics community will benefit from dramatic improvements in many technologies critical to testing gravity. Highly accurate deep space navigation, interplanetary laser communication, interferometry and metrology, high precision frequency standards, precise pointing and attitude control, together with drag-free technologies, will revolutionize the field of experimental gravitational physics. The centennial of the general theory of relativity in 2015 will motivate a significant number of experiments designed to test this theory with unprecedented accuracy.The purpose of the contributions in this book, written by international experts, is to explore the possibilities for the next 20 years for conducting gravitational experiments in space that would utilize both entirely new and highly improved existing capabilities.