&lt;p&gt;Gravitational waves are tiny perturbations in the curvature of space-time that arise from accelerating masses &amp;ndash; according to&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;Einstein&amp;rsquo;s general theory of relativity. The first hint tat these waves existed was spotted in 1974 as a gradual decrease in orbital period&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;of pulsars. However, no one has directly detected a gravitational wave, not even the operational ground-based Advanced LIGO&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;antennas. Our space-based gravity wave detector, equipped with Atom Interferometers (AI), has the potential to enable exciting&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;science spanning the gamut from investigations of white dwarf binaries to inspiralling black holes, and cosmologically significant&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;phenomena like inflation. This new measurement approach, capable of higher, scientifically more interesting frequencies of operation,&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;interferometer architecture, and mission concept would open a whole new window on the origin of our universe, heralding a deeper&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;understanding of the fundamental laws of physics. Unlike light, Gravitational Waves (GW) permit observations beyond the so-called&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;surface of last scattering; that is, before the white hot fog of hydrogen plasma cooled to give way to the formation of atoms. Goddard&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;has teamed with Stanford to explore this innovative detector concept. We are proposing to analyze and better understand the realm&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;of applicability of this new, &amp;ldquo;disruptive&amp;rdquo; technology of atomic interferometry for exploring GW physics. The technological readiness&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;of this approach for space flight will be critically examined in light of significant DARPA and DoD investments over the past decade&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;or more. Cold atom-based inertial sensors have recently made it out of the laboratory and are in the process of being engineered and&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;ruggedized for a variety of real-world applications in the fields of navigation and remote sensing, including some very demanding&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;mission applications. Gravitational wave detection is arguably the most compelling scientific application for atomic quantum sensors&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height:1.6em"&gt;of this sort in space.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;