User:Pdeitiker/Magsat



Magsat (Magnetic Field Satellite, Explorer 61, Applications Explorer Mission-3 or AEM-3) spacecraft was launched on October 30, 1979. The mission was to map the magnetic field close to the Earth, the satellite has two magnetometers. The scalar (a Cesium vapor) and vector (fluxgate) magnetometers gave Magsat a capability beyond that of any previous spacecraft. Extended by a telescoping boom, the magnetometers device were distanced from the magnetic field created by the satellite and its instruments. The satellite carried two magnetometers, a three-axis fluxgate magnetometer for determining the strength and direction of magnetic fields, and a ion-vapor/vector magnetometer for determining the magnetic field caused by the vector magnetometer itself.

Magnetic_Field_Earth.png After launch the payload was brought to an orbit of 96.8 facing the sun as the earth rotated underneath. It was kept in a close earth orbit, with vector magnetometers capable of sensing magnetic fields closer to earths surface. The data collected by this satellite allowed a 3D-mapping of the earths magnetic interior as never seen before. In combination with a later satellite is has been an essential component for explaining the current declining state of the Earth's magnetic field.