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Concept
Explorer 61
Summary
Magsat (Magnetic field Satellite, Applications Explorer Mission-C or AEM-C or Explorer 61) was a NASA/USGS (United States Geological Survey) spacecraft, launched on 30 October 1979. The mission was to map the Earth's magnetic field, the satellite had two magnetometers. The scalar (cesium vapor) and vector magnetometers gave Magsat a capability beyond that of any previous spacecraft. Extended by a telescoping boom, the magnetometers were distanced from the magnetic field created by the satellite and its electronics. The satellite carried two magnetometers, a three-axis fluxgate magnetometer for determining the strength and direction of magnetic fields, and an ion-vapor/vector magnetometer for determining the magnetic field caused by the vector magnetometer itself. Magsat is considered to be one of the more important Science/Earth orbiting satellites launched; the data it accumulated is still being used, particularly in linking new satellite data to past observations.
The Magsat project was a joint NASA/USGS effort to measure near-Earth magnetic fields on a global basis. Objectives included obtaining an accurate description of the Earth's magnetic field, obtaining data for use in the update and refinement of world and regional magnetic charts, compilation of a global crustal magnetic anomaly map, and interpretation of that map in terms of geologic/geophysical models of the Earth's crust.
The Explorer 61 was launched into a low, near-polar, orbit by the Scout vehicle. The basic spacecraft was made up of two distinct parts: the instrument module that contained a vector and a scalar magnetometer and their unique supporting gear; and the base module that contained the necessary data-handling, power, communications, command, and attitude-control subsystems to support the instrument module. The base module complete with its subsystems was composed of residual Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS-C) hardware. The magnetometers were deployed after launch to a position behind the spacecraft.
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