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Magion

For nearly 20 years the Geophysics Institute (renamed the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in 1994) in Prague has specialized in the development of very small, scientific satellites designed to investigate the complex nature of the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. In many ways, these satellites were the forerunners of the now popular microsatellites, though the size and mass of the Czech Magion satellites are similar to the more recent platforms produced by the UK's University of Surrey, Magion satellites are highly sophisticated spacecraft designed for state-of-the-art geophysics exploration.

Developed under the former Interkosmos program, Magion satellites are launched as piggyback spacecraft designed to carry out their experiments in concert with a mother satellite. Magion 1, with a mass of only 15 kg was, was launched with Interkosmos 18 in 1978 to monitor low frequency propagation in LEO from an initial orbit of only 400 km by 775 km with a high inclination of 83 degrees. Magion 2 appeared in 1989 with Interkosmos 24 under the Aktivnyy project to investigate VLF propagations in the magnetophere and their interaction with energetic particles in the Earth's radiation belts in an orbit of 505 km by 2,490 km with an inclination of 83 degrees. Magion 2 also introduced the curent Magion base configuration with a mass of approximately 50 kg and a diameter of 0.6 m. The octagonal bus is equipped with four small solar arrays as well as body-mounted solar panels. Magion 2 also carried a Soviet Pulsar maneuvering system to regulate the distance between the sub-satellite and its companion spacecraft, although on this mission the system malfunctioned.

Magion 3 continued the work begun by its predecessor after launch in 1991 with Interkosmos 25 under the APEKS (Active Plasma Experiment) program. Essentially identical to Magion 2, Magion 3 recorded the effects in the magnetosphere of electron and Xenon ion beams injected by Interkosmos 25. The Pulsar engine performed well on this mission which lasted nine months in an orbit of 440 km by 3,070 km with an inclination of 83 degrees.

Two more Magion spacecraft are being prepared in conjunction with the Interbol project which will employ two pairs of spacecraft (mother-daughter) to investigate the magnetospheric tail and auroral zones, respectively. After several years of delays Magion 4 is expected to be launched in 1995 with a Russian Prognoz M2-class spacecraft and inserted into an orbit of approximately 500 km by 200,000 km. Magion 5 should follow 6-12 months later with another Prognoz M2 spacecraft in an orbit of 500 km by 20,000 km. The masses of Magion 4 and 5 are expected to be slightly heavier than earlier models, i.e., approximately 60 kg.