What is "magsat"

Magsat (Magnetic Field Satellite, Explorer 61, Applications Explorer Mission-3 or AEM-3) spacecraft was launched in the fall of 1979 and ended in the spring of 1980. The mission was to map the Earth's magnetic field, the satellite has two magnetometers. The scalar (Cesium vapor) and vector (fluxgate) 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.

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 Earth's surface. The data collected by this satellite allowed a 3D-mapping of the Earth's magnetic interior as never seen before. In combination with a later satellite, Ørsted, it has been an essential component for explaining the current declining state of the Earth's magnetic field.