NGA launches 3 CubeSats to test improvements in geomagnetic data collection

Following a successful launch early Monday morning, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency now has three small satellites on orbit that will demonstrate advancements in measuring the Earth’s magnetic field.

NGA sponsored the launch of three CubeSats that are a product of the MagQuest program, designed to create novel and cost-effective approaches to how the agency collects data on the magnetic properties surrounding the Earth. The small satellites were lifted into low-Earth orbit via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission, which took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Each of the CubeSats are equipped with different capabilities that represent new ways to collect geomagnetic data for the World Magnetic Model — a global standard used for keeping navigation systems accurate.

While NGA is most known for its role in collecting and distributing geospatial intelligence for national security missions, the agency is also tasked with overseeing production of the World Magnetic Model alongside the United Kingdom’s Defence Geographic Center. The model is a key component in military navigation systems, as well as in commercial airlines and smartphone GPS.

Because the Earth’s magnetic field is constantly changing, NGA works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the British Geological Survey to update the World Magnetic Model every five years. 

The European Space Agency’s Swarm satellites have been collecting magnetic field measurements since 2013. However, NGA is working to identify new methods of data collection beyond the Swarm capability.

NGA kicked off MagQuest in 2019 as an open innovation challenge that called for novel ideas to increase the efficiency of updating the World Magnetic Model. By 2021, the agency had narrowed down to three primes that each delivered a CubeSat with different types of magnetometers, which are used to measure magnetic fields.

The space vehicles developed and launched Monday are the first CubeSats, also referred to as nanosatellites, capable of collecting geomagnetic data to go on orbit.

“We are on the verge of proving that small, affordable satellites can deliver the high-quality magnetic data our nation depends on,” Mike Paniccia, NGA’s program manager for the World Magnetic Model, said in a statement. “These teams have spent the past few years pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with CubeSat technology, and this launch is the moment where all of that ingenuity meets the ultimate test.”

The University of Colorado-Boulder’s solution was designed with a compact scalar-vector magnetometer that will collect highly accurate magnetic field data, according to an NGA news release.

Another CubeSat developed by Spire Global and SBQuantum features a novel, diamond quantum magnetometer, per the release.

The third platform was built by Iota Technologies and integrates a “deployable helical boom, vector fluxgate magnetometer and atomic scalar magnetometer,” NGA said in a statement.

Now that the three CubeSats are in space, the three MagQuest teams will soon begin using them to collect data on the Earth’s magnetic field and compare their findings against the most recent World Magnetic Model update from 2025.

Once the findings are reviewed, the results will inform NGA’s acquisition strategy for a future geomagnetic data collection capability that will support the next global update slated for 2030, according to the agency.