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March.15, 1978 
MAGSAT 
(Magnetic Field Satellite) - 
EXPECTED LAUNCH DATE: September 1979 
Expected Lifetime: 4-8 months 
ORBIT: Quasi sun-synchronous 
Inclination: 97% 
Apogee: . 550 km - 
Perigee: 325 .km 
SENSORS: Alkali vapor scalar magnetometer, 15,000 to 64,000 gamma 
Triaxial fluxgate magnetometer + 64,000 gamma 
System accuracy: 
Scalar + 3 gamma 
Vector 6 gamma root sum squared (rss) 
Telemetry downlink: - 
2282.5 - 2284.5 megahertz pulse code modulation (PCM) 
8 bit words 
312 K bit data rate 
OTHER FEATURES: Deployable boom 
Boom attitude transfer system with redundant 
self-calibrating 3-axis measurement to 5 arc sec 
Magnetic spacecraft cleanliness at sensor: less 
than 1 gamma 
Weight: 165 kg Power: 72 watts 
PURPOSE: Scalar and vector magnetic field measurements will be 
: used to: s Ë 
Update maps of Zarth's magnetic field 
Produce geomagnetic field models 
Produce crustal anomaly maps 
REFERENCE:  Langel, R.A., Regan, R.D., and Murphy, J.P., 
Magsat: A Satellite for Measuring Near-Earth Magnetic 
Fields: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Preprint 
X-922-77-199. 
CONTACT: Magsat Project 
NASA/GSFC, Code 922 
Greenbelt, MD 20771 
Dr. Robert A. Langel, Project Scientist 
Mr. Gilbert Ousley, Project Manager 
DATA AVAILABILITY: National Space Sciences Data Center 
NASA/GSFC 
Greenbelt, MD 20771 
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