EQUATOR-S: Earth's Equatorial Magnetosphere Data

EQUATOR-S is a low-cost mission designed to study the Earth's equatorial
magnetosphere out to distances of 67000 km and it forms an element of the
closely-coordinated fleet of satellites that comprise the IASTP program. It
is based on a simple spacecraft design and carries a science payload consisting
of advanced instruments that were developed for other IASTP missions. Unique
features of EQUATOR-S are its nearly equatorial orbit and its high spin rate.
It was launched as an auxiliary payload on an Ariane-4 on December 2nd, 1997.

The German Cluster and Equator-S Data Centre, located at MPE, has taken on the
task of an EQUATOR-S Data Centre (EDC). It receives the Master Data Records
produced at GSOC directly via a leased data line, and also via CD-ROM. With
software provided by the instrument teams, the EDC then generates two sets of
key parameters, both closely modelled after the CLUSTER data sets: the Summary
Parameter Data Base (SPDB) with 1-minute time resolution, and the Prime
Parameter Data Base (PPDB) with 1.5 s (i.e., spin) resolution. The SPDB and
PPDB contain 55 and 58 quantities, respectively. A standard set of plots of
SPDB parameters is generated at the same time. The EDC also archives the data.
Once validated by the Lead Investigators, the key parameters can be obtained
through MPE's CDAWeb (http://eqs1.plasma.mpe-garching.mpg.de/cdaweb/). The
one-minute data (SPDB) is available to everybody, while access to the 1.5-s
data (PPDB) is initially restricted to the EQUATOR-S Science Team. The SPDB
will also be included on the ISTP Key Parameter CD-ROMs which are available to
everybody.