You aren't using empirical correctly, nor consistently.
Observing things fall down is indeed an empirical observation. It does not follow that any given explanation for the observed phenomena is empirical: I walked off a chair, therefore I observed empirically that by walking I move the entire universe around me. (obviously wrong, no?) Or, I threw a baseball and it fell to Earth, therefore baseballs have inherent properties that guide them to their correct resting altitude when thrown. It must be true, as I observed it empirically.
You see the problem. Empirical observations are not the same as the theories that explain them. UA is a theory, it is not empirical.
Gravitons and invisible space, sure, also not empirical. Newton's gravity and general relativity and quantum gravity are theories, intended to predict how and why things happen. That they do so consistently and correctly makes them good theories. UA fails to correctly predict certain observations, which makes it a bad theory. Asserting that celestial gravitation is responsible for those changes is conjecture: There is no actual theory given, no attempt to explain. It's just, CG does it. Conjecture.
Now, I remember you participating in a thread about
the detection of gravitational waves. That is an example of empirical observation, and it is relevant to point out the observations made were consistent with general relativity, but not with universal acceleration. So, GR has more support from empirical evidence, and is a better theory overall.
But we're getting off topic. I think the question has been thoroughly answered by now.