China, in cooperation with ESA, has implemented the Double Star Program (DSP) to launch two satellites to study the Earth magnetosphere. DSP-Equator was launched into an equatorial orbit with an apogee of 13 Earth radii in December 2003. DSP-Polar was launched in July 2004, with a polar orbit and an apogee of about 7 Earth radii.

More than half of the DSP payload is provided by European PIs. The European instruments are either spare flight models from the Cluster mission or newly refurbished and developed models. Joint studies using Cluster and Double Star data should increase the overall scientific return from both missions.

IWF participates in this mission with two experiments: DSP ASPOC controls the electric potential of the equatorial spacecraft, DSP FGM measures the magnetic field on both satellites.

IWF is also Co-Investigator for the electron spectrometer PEACE and the ion spectrometer HIA and operates the Austrian Double Star Data Centre (ADDC) and the European Data Disposition System (EDDS).

The data analysis at IWF Graz focuses on the Earth's magnetotail.

Further information on the Double Star mission is found at ESA.