The World Magnetic Survey.

Abstract

The mathematical and graphical description of the earth's main field has been, and is, a 'data limited' problem. The World Magnetic Survey (WMS) is an endeavor to minimize this limitation by rapidly and comprehensively blanketing the earth with magnetic field measurements. Satellite surveys, which will play a key role in the WMS, are the principal topic of this paper. Existing magnetic field descriptions, the expected results from new surveys, and the methods of obtaining these results with the POGO satellite are emphasized. It is anticipated on the basis of extrapolation from Vanguard III results and other considerations that a factor-of-10 improvement will be obtained. This means that the average errors of 1 to 3 percent now present in field charts and spherical harmonic descriptions should be reduced to 0.1 to 0.3 percent as a result of the survey.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1964
Accession Number
ADA310393

Entities

People

  • James P. Heppner

Organizations

  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Satellites
  • Extrapolation
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Magnetic Phenomena
  • Mathematical Analysis
  • Mathematics
  • Measurement
  • Numerical Analysis

Readers

  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space