The magneto-resistive magnetometer (MRM) of the Block of Central University (BCU) payload onboard the Tatiana-2 satellite is made of anisotropic magneto-resistive (AMR) sensor chips, which have appealing features of small size (10 × 15 × 7 mm 3 ), light weight (2 grams) and low power consumption (100 mW). The small MRM is packaged together with other instrument/subsystems of the BCU into a 1.6 kg payload box for convenient installation. In this report, we present the design, calibration, and flight data analysis of the MRM. In particular, the detailed methods of pre-flight calibrations are described. The calibrated data revealed typical patterns of the global geo-magnetic field structure and of field-aligned current (FAC) distribution in the high latitude ionosphere, though the MRM of BCU only has a resolution of 24 nT and a sampling rate of 2.22 Hz. Moreover, the current density derived from our magnetic field measurements are about 2 and 3 μA m -2 , respectively, for downward and upward FAC, which are comparable to those typically observed at auroral latitudes during a quiet geomagnetic condition.

In conjunction with the international collaborative project of ESEMS (Experimental Scientific Education Micro Satellite) whose goal is to develop an experimental scientific-education microsatellite with science payloads, a team consisting of professors and students from the National Central University (NCU) has designed and fabricated a set of space flight instruments for space weather studies. The Block of Central University (BCU) made payload has been flown successfully on board Tatiana-2. To our knowledge, the BCU payload is the very first successful satellite payload which has been developed from design and component selection to the completion of the flight module mainly by students and faculty on the NCU campus in Taiwan. This paper describes some details of the engineering effort in building the BCU payload, including sensing devices (ETP and MRM), data processing unit, and power supply. Samples of flight data acquired by BCU are also presented to show that all units of the BCU system and payload-spacecraft interfaces functioned well as expected. The flight data provides direct evidence that the NCU team is capable of developing spaceflight quality instruments for future satellite missions.