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Two GalileoGNSS satellites delivered into elliptical orbits by mistake have been used to improve our tests of general relativity (over shortish distances) by a factor of five. Very cool! Press release: obspm.fr/when-galileo-confirms.html?lang=en APSphysics synopsis: physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.231102
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Sadly, the PhysRevLett paper isn't open access, and I can't find a preprint. #OpenAccess #OpenScience
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So many questions! Are the satellites still 'working' in the 'wrong' orbits? So will we get even better data in the future? Or is there something about them that means this is it? What other ways (deliberate or otherwise) can we test GR in Earth orbit?