# The speed of gravity revisited

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-speed-of-gravity-revisited/652024>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 4, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-speed-of-gravity-revisited/652024 "2013-03-04T18:37:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-speed-of-gravity-revisited/652024/1 "2013-03-04T18:37:34Z")

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[  
In Cronos’ report [URL=“http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2095/what-is-the-speed-of-gravity”]http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2095/what-is-the-speed-of-gravity](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2095/what-is-the-speed-of-gravity) he states that in ten years we might have an answer to LISA’s gravity quest.  
“LISA is almost guaranteed to have unambiguous observations within a few seconds of it being turned on, but that’s about a decade in the future.” (Post written in 2003, see bottom of the page)  
So… It’s been ten years. Has LISA been turned on? What are the observations?  
Thanks

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**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-speed-of-gravity-revisited/652024/2 "2013-03-04T18:42:44Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> If launched

> **[Laser Interferometer Space Antenna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Interferometer_Space_Antenna)**
>
> The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a planned space probe to detect and measure gravitational waves—tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime—from astronomical sources. LISA will be the first dedicated space-based gravitational-wave observatory. It aims to measure gravitational waves directly by using laser interferometry. The LISA concept features three spacecraft arranged in an equilateral triangle with each side 2.5 million kilometers long, flying in an Earth-like heliocentric The...

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**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-speed-of-gravity-revisited/652024/3 "2013-03-04T19:26:13Z")

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Thanks! 🙂

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-speed-of-gravity-revisited/652024/4 "2013-03-05T00:44:05Z")

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Wow, was that that long ago?

And while LISA is currently dead (there are attempts to revive it, or something very similar, with a new name, but don’t hold your breath), the LIGO project is still progressing very close to on schedule (eerily so, in fact: It’s almost unheard of for big research projects like that to go according to plan). So, keep watching this space.