First experiment to test whether space-time is flat. II. Effects of orbit

The gyroscope in an orbiting satellite will be acted on by additional gravitational fields due to the rotation of the earth and due to the orbital velocity of the satellite. According to special relativistic gravitational theory, we deduce _L ^(S) —the gyroscope's precession rate due to the orbital velocity—and _S ^(S) —the gyroscope's precession rate due to the earth's rotation in the polar orbit case. The results are _L ^(S) = (2/3) _L ^(G) , _S ^(S) = (3/2) cos (1 - sin² cos²)^1/2 _S ^(G) , where and are the gyroscope's polar angles, and _L ^(G) and _S ^(G) are the geodetic and frame-dragging precession rates predicted by general relativity, respectively.