Sam Califf
Research Interests
- Electric fields and energetic particle dynamics in the inner magnetosphere
- Multipoint measurements for space physics applications
- On-orbit magnetometer calibration
- Spacecraft/plasma influences on scientific measurements
- Geomagnetic field modeling
- Spacecraft guidance, navigation and control
Current Research
I am currently investigating the feasibility of using magnetometer data from the Iridium constellation to develop future World Magnetic Models (WMM). The WMM is a model of the Earth's core magnetic field that is widely used for navigation and heading information in both government and civilian applications. The model currently relies on data from the Swarm spacecraft, and there is an ongoing effort to find a replacement for the Swarm magnetometer data after the mission ends. The goals of this project are to determine whether the lower-accuracy magnetometers from Iridium satellites can be used to meet WWM requirements, and to evaluate the benefits of using a constellation of 66 satellites for magnetic field model development.