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Satellite Orbits
Wikipedia’s article on time dilation makes it sound like Einstein’s equations are used to pre-calculate satellite orbits. However, there are too many unpredictable factors related to satellite orbits for this to be true.
Unpredictable factors
To mention but a few such factors, we have:
- The solar wind: Like any other winds, the strength of solar winds vary in unpredictable ways.
- Gravity anomalies: Earth’s gravitational field is not smoothly distributed across our planet. Gravity anomalies makes Earth’s gravitational field lumpy and irregular. Furthermore, Earth’s gravitational field varies in 5.9 year cycles.
- Rotation speeds: Earth’s rotational speed is irregular. Earth speeds up and slows down for reasons that are neither well understood nor predictable.
- Continental drift: Continents move. Earth may even be expanding. This too happens sporadically.
No self regulating mechanism
Unlike orbits of planets and moons, there’s no self regulating mechanism that kicks in to adjust for any of the above issues. So, satellite orbits are adjusted in real time, based on synchronization with base stations on Earth. They’re not pre-calculated.
Conclusion
Any issues related to time dilation are taken care of by the same ad-hoc synchronization routines that are used for other issues. So, satellites don’t verify time dilation. At best, they provide indirect data in support of Einstein’s theory. But that’s hardly enough to constitute proof.
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“..There is for instance a solar wind that pushes things around. Like any other wind, it’s strength varies in an unpredictable manner..”
For ‘wind’ read ‘flow of charged particles’. That’s electric current in physics language! It is known as the Heliospheric Current Sheet.
It’s an interesting thought that the Earth’s rotation is receive some impetus from the Sun’s charged particle supply. In other words it is acting more like an electric motor. This could account for the variations in speed, if the solar wind variations are synchronized with that? There obviously is some inertia/ angular momentum, which is the mechanical solution astronomers offer
You’re right. The universe is much more interconnected than was generally believed a hundred years back. The Earth is not hanging in the middle of a void, only connected to the Sun through gravity. It’s part of a complex eco-system where things constantly change and stability is due to inertia and feedback loops of various kinds.