Download PDF

Spire > Case Studies > Innovative Geomagnetic Data Collection Solution: A Case Study on Spire and SBQuantum's Award-Winning CubeSat

Innovative Geomagnetic Data Collection Solution: A Case Study on Spire and SBQuantum's Award-Winning CubeSat

Technology Category

Sensors - Dry Contact Sensors
Sensors - GPS

Applicable Industries

National Security & Defense
Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation
Procurement

Use Cases

Last Mile Delivery

The Challenge

The United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) relies heavily on the World Magnetic Model (WMM) for a variety of essential public and military systems, including mobile navigation applications, surveying tools, antennas, solar panels, and GPS. The WMM is a representation of the Earth’s magnetic field, and its accuracy is crucial for the functioning of these technologies. The data for the WMM was being collected by the European Space Agency Swarm mission, which was launched in 2013 and was expected to conclude in 2021. Given the impending conclusion of the Swarm mission and the critical importance of the WMM, the NGA launched the MagQuest competition to find sustainable, reliable, and accurate data collection alternatives for the future.

About The Customer

The customer in this case study is the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The NGA is a combat support agency under the United States Department of Defense and a member of the United States Intelligence Community, with the primary mission of collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of national security. The NGA is particularly interested in the World Magnetic Model (WMM), a representation of the Earth’s magnetic field, which is used in a variety of essential public and military systems. The NGA launched the MagQuest competition to find sustainable, reliable, and accurate data collection alternatives for the WMM.

The Solution

Spire and SBQuantum partnered to submit a joint entry to the MagQuest competition, proposing a diamond quantum magnetometer system deployed on a Spire 6U CubeSat. The solution included an in-orbit demonstration of a 6U LEMUR satellite bus designed by Spire, with SBQuantum’s modified and integrated commercial magnetic sensor technology. The solution also included a global ground network of 29 stations dispersed globally, using a store-and-forward concept to enhance the value of the data by providing sufficient data distribution, latency, and volume. Spire's cloud-based storage and computing infrastructure was used to process the measurements and provide access to end-users through easy-to-use APIs.

Operational Impact

The solution proposed by Spire and SBQuantum was successful in providing the NGA with a reliable and secure method for collecting geomagnetic data for the World Magnetic Model (WMM). The solution not only met the NGA's requirements for accuracy and reliability, but also offered the promise of rapid scalability. This scalability is particularly important given the wide range of applications that rely on the WMM. The success of the solution is also reflected in the fact that a competitive procurement for the operational WMM mission solution is slated to be released in Q4 2021.

Quantitative Benefit

Spire and SBQuantum received a total of $425,000 in awards over the three phases of the MagQuest program.
The solution proposed by Spire and SBQuantum includes a global ground network of 29 stations dispersed globally.
The solution uses Spire's cloud-based storage and computing infrastructure to process the measurements and provide access to end-users.