In situ calibration of the Swarm-Echo magnetometers

“…WAIC-UP detrends the magnetometer signals with a uniform filter and is not able to remove DC interference. However, other algorithms are available that can calibrate the DC offsets of magnetic field measurements in situ [18]. Lastly, this algorithm was tested offline using a single thread on an Intel Core i7-1255U CPU, which has much higher computational power than a typical CubeSat platform.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wavelet-Adaptive Interference Cancellation for Underdetermined Platforms: Enhancing Boomless Magnetic Field Measurements on Compact Spacecraft

Hoffmann,

Moldwin

2023

IEEE Trans. Aerosp. Electron. Syst.

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Spacecraft magnetic field measurements are frequently degraded by stray magnetic fields originating from onboard electrical systems. These interference signals can mask the natural ambient magnetic field, reducing the quality of scientific data collected. Traditional approaches involve positioning magnetometers on mechanical booms to minimize the influence of the spacecraft's stray magnetic fields. However, this method is impractical for resource-constrained platforms, such as CubeSats, which necessitate compact and cost-effective designs. In this work, we introduce an interference removal technique called Wavelet-Adaptive Interference Cancellation for Underdetermined Platforms (WAIC-UP). This method effectively eliminates stray magnetic field signals using multiple magnetometers, without requiring prior knowledge of the spectral content, location, or magnitude of the interference signals. WAIC-UP capitalizes on the distinct spectral properties of various interference signals and employs an analytical method to separate them from ambient magnetic field in the wavelet domain. We validate the efficacy of WAIC-UP through a statistical simulation of randomized 1U CubeSat interference configurations, as well as with real-world magnetic field signals generated by copper coils. Our findings demonstrate that WAIC-UP consistently retrieves the ambient magnetic field under various interference conditions and does so with orders of magnitude less computational time compared to other modern noise removal algorithms. By facilitating high-quality magnetic field measurements on boomless platforms, WAIC-UP presents new opportunities for small-satellite-based space science missions.

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“…The vector magnetic field measured by Tesseract 𝐵 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 was recorded over the course of this test. This data was used to calibrate the Tesseract magnetometer using a method described in detail by Olsen et al (2003) and Broadfoot et al (2022), which exploits the relationship in Equation 1 to fit the 165 instrument's intrinsic calibrations parameters -orthogonality 𝐴, sensitivity 𝑆, and offset 𝑂 -such that the vector residuals between the known vector field 𝐵 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 measured vector field 𝐵 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 is minimized.…”

Section: Pre-flight Calibration 160mentioning

confidence: 99%

First In Situ Measurements of the Prototype Tesseract Fluxgate Magnetometer on the ACES-II Low Sounding Rocket

Greene,

Bounds,

Broadfoot

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Abstract. Ongoing innovation in next generation fluxgate magnetometry is important for enabling future investigations of space plasma, especially multi-spacecraft experimental studies of energy transport in the magnetosphere and the solar wind. Demonstrating the spaceflight capability of novel designs is an important step in the instrument development process; however, large-scale satellite missions are often unwilling to accept the risks of an instrument without flight heritage. The Tesseract – a novel fluxgate magnetometer sensor design-had an opportunity for an inaugural spaceflight demonstration on the ACES-II sounding rocket mission, which launched from Andøya Space Center in Andenes, Norway, in November 2022. Tesseract’s design takes advantage of a new racetrack core geometry to create a sensor that addresses some of the issues that contribute to instability in more traditional ring core designs. Here we present the design of a prototype fluxgate magnetometer based on the new Tesseract sensor, its preflight characteristics, and an evaluation of its inflight performance aboard ACES-II. We find that the magnetic field measured by Tesseract over the course of the flight was in strong agreement with both the onboard ACES II reference ring core fluxgate magnetometer and the predictions of a geomagnetic field model. The Tesseract based magnetometer measured signatures of field aligned currents and potential Alfvén wave activity as it crossed an active auroral arc, we conclude that it performed as expected. Tesseract will be flown on the TRACERS Small Explorers (SMEX) satellite mission as part of the MAGIC technology demonstration currently scheduled to launch in 2025.

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In situ calibration of the Swarm-Echo magnetometers

Cited by 8 publications

References 14 publications

Wavelet-Adaptive Interference Cancellation for Underdetermined Platforms: Enhancing Boomless Magnetic Field Measurements on Compact Spacecraft

Wavelet-Adaptive Interference Cancellation for Underdetermined Platforms: Enhancing Boomless Magnetic Field Measurements on Compact Spacecraft

Wavelet-Adaptive Interference Cancellation for Underdetermined Platforms: Enhancing Boomless Magnetic Field Measurements on Compact Spacecraft

First In Situ Measurements of the Prototype Tesseract Fluxgate Magnetometer on the ACES-II Low Sounding Rocket

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