A Brief History of the Development of Scientific Instruments for Ionospheric and Magnetospheric Research, Magion Satellites

This chapter presents a brief history of the development of scientific instruments for ionospheric and magnetospheric research at the Geophysical Institute and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics. Ionospheric research commenced at the Geophysical Institute in the mid-1950s, when the Ionospheric Department was established. The International Geophysical Year further accelerated ionospheric research and initiated research into the plasmasphere, based on regular recordings of whistlers and also regular ionosphere sounding, which is still being continued. The 1960s provided the first opportunity of exploiting satellite data. The establishment of Intercosmos, in 1967, was a great opportunity to take part in space research and build scientific instruments for in-situ measurements. During the 1970s and 1980s more than 20 instruments were constructed, and the Institute took part in large projects, such as Vega and Intershock. This great period culminated in the five satellite Magion series. The first Magion was launched in 1978, weighed 14.5 kg, and carried out two scientific experiments. The last, Magion 5, weighed 68.5 kg, and carried 15 scientific instruments from seven countries. All five satellites were launched piggyback with a larger "mother" satellite, equipped with a similar scientific payload, to distinguish the space-time structures of the Earth's plasma. Magion satellites were built at the Ionospheric Department of the Geophysical Institute, which transformed to the Upper Atmosphere Department of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in 1994. All the satellites were operated using local telemetry and the command station Panska Ves. This provided great flexibility and interactivity for the scientific experiments. Based on the scientific data from the Magion satellites, more than 100 papers were published, and scientists are still using the Magion data today. Space research at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics continues and is traditionally focused on research into Earth's space environment and into space physics. The history in this field is a good basis for current and future space activities.