We analyze the ROCSAT-1 IPEI data collected between March andJune 1999 to study the statistical features of the ion vertical drifts at equatorialand tropical latitudes.The dependencies of ion vertical drifts on localtime,longitude and geomagnetic field configuration,as well as geomagneticactivity are examined.The variations of the equatorial vertical driftsnear the dawn and dusk terminators are of particular interest.From thispreliminary study,we have shown that the overall local-time characteristicsof the quiet-time equatorial vertical drift patterns derived from IPEIare in good agreement with those observed by other satellites and ground-based instruments.More importantly,several new results due to the unique35° orbital inclination of ROCSAT-1 and the 100% duty-cycle operation ofIPEI are found.These include:(a)enhanced upward ion drifts to a criticallevel of 30-60m/s at post-sunset hours strongly correlate with the occurrenceof rising bubbles in the pre-midnight local time sector;(b)large(>300m/s)downward ion drifts are most often found near sunrise and atlongitudes where the geomagnetic field has greatest variations;(c)the statisticaldrift patterns strongly depend on the hemispheres at the equatorialanomaly latitudes.This north-south asymmetry may result from seasonaleffects and/or from differences in geomagnetic field configuration.