'Galileo Galilei' flight experiment on the equivalence principle with field emission electric propulsion

Abstract

'Galileo Galilei' is a small mission currently under study by eight research institutions in Italy, a mission which concerns a small, low altitude, Earth satellite with two objectives. One objective is scientific, in the field of fundamental physics, and the other technological in the frame of spacecraft propulsion and drag compensation. The scientific goal is to test a fundamental principle of modern physics, the Equivalence Principle formulated by Einstein generalizing Galileo's and Newton's work, to 1 part in 1016, four orders of magnitude better than the best ground results. The technological goal is a full, comprehensive test of FEEP (Field Emission Electric Propulsion) thrusters for accurate drag compensation. This paper presents results of perturbation analysis, finite element numerical simulation, construction and testing of the key components of the space apparatus