It is possible to easily measure variations of intensity of the earth's gravity field by orbiting two geometrically identical satellites spaced about 200 kilometers apart and equipped to measure their relative velocity. The velocity difference is related to the space gradient of the potential field, which is a totally different concept of measurement, compared with present methods that measure the long-term integrated effects of gravity on orbit elements. It is expected that one month of satellite time would yield one set of measurements of the gravity anomalies of the entire earth with sensitivity at least 1 mgal ten times better than present world surveys. The cost is comparatively small and, in view of cost reduction for other related programs, may even be a substantial saving in total.
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Milo Wolff (1969) studied this question.