Taiji program

<p>The Taiji program is a proposed <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">Chinese</a> <a href="/facts/Satellite/PTX8c68t">satellite</a>-based <a href="/facts/Gravitational-wave_observatory/5PaoAqBg">gravitational-wave observatory</a>. It is scheduled for launch in 2033 to study ripples in <a href="/facts/Spacetime/uRIN1x4b">spacetime</a> caused by <a href="/facts/Gravitational_waves/4XWN3NtG">gravitational waves</a>. The program consists of a triangle of three spacecraft orbiting the Sun linked by laser <a href="/facts/Interferometer/X3E1SsQT">interferometers</a>.  
</p><p>There are two alternative plans for Taiji. One is to take a 20 percent share of the European Space Agency's <a href="/facts/Laser_Interferometer_Space_Antenna/DAISKwem">LISA</a> project; the other is to launch China's own satellites by 2033 to authenticate the ASE project.  Like LISA, the Taiji spacecraft would be 3 million kilometers apart, making them sensitive to as similar range of frequencies, although Taiji is proposed to perform better in some of that range.
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Taiji program open-in-new

Taiji program