  Gravitational waves from the coalescence of binary black holes carry linear
momentum, causing center of mass recoil. This ``radiation rocket'' has
important implications for systems with escape speeds of order the recoil
velocity. We describe new recoil calculations using high precision black hole
perturbation theory to estimate the magnitude of the recoil for the slow
``inspiral'' coalescence phase; coupled with a cruder calculation for the final
``plunge'', we estimate the total recoil imparted to a merged black hole. We
find that velocities of many tens to a few hundred km/sec can be achieved
fairly easily. The recoil probably never exceeds about 500 km/sec.

Astrophysics;General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology