Geomagnetic field investigation on the polar microsatellite SACI-1

Abstract The first Brazilian Scientific Microsatellite, SACI-1, is scheduled to be launched in July 1999 in a near circular polar orbit at an inclination of 98.5° and an altitude of 750 km. It will carry a three-component fluxgate magnetometer constructed by IGPP/UCLA for measuring three components of the Earth's Magnetic Field in space at a rate of 10 samples per second. The scientific objective is to study field-aligned currents in the auroral oval and the electrojet of the equatorial ionosphere. Together with the geomagnetic data from other polar orbiting spacecraft e.g. POLAR, FAST, OERSTED, it will be possible to obtain a truly global picture of a field-aligned current system. The experimental details and the plans of this project are presented here.