New magnetic electron spectrometer with directional sensitivity for a satellite application

Abstract

Design and test of a new magnetic electron spectrometer with excellent angular and rather small energy resolution is described. The system is specifically designed for a space flight application to analyze the angular distribution of energetic electrons. Incident electrons with energies between 15 and 270 keV are focused with respect to the direction of incidence. Reasonable directional focusing is obtained over an angular range of 60 degrees with a resolution of 5 degrees. This magnetic electron spectrometer is part of the energetic particle instrument (EPI) developed for the European Space Agency (ESA) GEOS program. GEOS-1 was launched on April 20, 1977, and injected into a 12-h orbit. The instrument has worked successfully since the switch-on-phase in the beginning of May 1977.