Some Properties of the Gravitation Field and Their Possible Application to Space Navigation

This paper describes the principle of operation of a new inertial instrument and the elements of a technique for making measurements using this instrument. This device measures certain spatial properties of the gravitational field, from which the direction of the vertical and altitude with respect to a nearby heavenly body can be obtained. An elementary treatment of the mathematics establishes the theoretical foundations for the instrument and also provides an indication of the effects of various classes of disturbing inputs. Some of the problems associated with the reduction to practice of the basic transducer are considered, and gross feasibility is established.