During the International Magnetosphere Study period the Intercosmos 19 spacecraft, Ionozond-IK, was launched into a high inclination, elliptical orbit with a low apogee. The main scientific objectives of Ionozond-IK were:

-The study of the electron-density distribution from the main ionization maximum of the F-region up to the satellite altitude with a topside sounder, and the correlation of the time and space variations with solar activity, corpuscular fluxes and other geophysical phenomena
- Global mapping of basic ionospheric parameters and construction of a topside ionosphere model
- The study of wave processes in magnetospheric plasma in the frequency range 100 Hz to 5 MHz
- The study of time and space variations of emissions in the 6300-6364 Å bands and 3914 Å and 5577 Å lines
- The study of time and space variations of charged particles with energies between 10 eV and 50 MeV and their ionospheric effect, and
the study of time and space variations of local electron and ion densities and temperatures.

The program included simultaneous ground-based observations at ionospheric and solar stations of the USSR and Socialist countries. Experiments on board were:

- Topside Sounder
- Plasma Experiment
- Wave Experiment
- Particle Experiment
- Electrophotometer (EMO-1)