A precursor prototype instrument to the MAGIC TDO flew on the Norwegian ICI-5 Sounding Rocket in 2019. The instrument operated nominally, as the ocket experienced a major flight anomaly and entered an unplanned flat spin.. Magnetometer booms require spin stabilization to deploy and are never locked into a deployed position; the attitude solution was unusable.

However, Norway has secured funding for a re-flight opportunity called ICI-5b. This mission will launch in Spring 2026 from the Andøya Space Sub-Orbital Range in Norway. ICI-5bis will study plasma turbulence and irregularities in the auroral ionosphere as a contribution to the international Grand Challenge Initiative – MLT (Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere). 

New Magnetometer Technologies

This mission will flight demonstrate next-generation magnetometer technologies. The new magnetometer incorporates two recent technology improvements. The sensor is based on the ‘Tesseract’ design from the MAGIC technology demonstration that will fly on the TRACERS Small Explorers mission in 2025. In this new and improved version, the sensor has been miniaturized down to “nanosatellite” scale, without sacrificing measurement performance. 

MiniT sensor

Referred to as the “Mini-T”, it also uses new electronics developed as part of the CHIMERA project (18-HTIDS18-001), which should allow for more radiation tolerant electronics to support infusion into missions that experience harsh radiation environments. This new sensor could be deployed in a nanosatellite constellation to study the dynamics of Earth’s magnetosphere or deployed into the hostile environment of the Earth’s Van Allen Radiation Belts.