diff --git a/src/modules/simulator/simulator_mavlink.cpp b/src/modules/simulator/simulator_mavlink.cpp
index 53fd732467..d23d5e973a 100644
--- a/src/modules/simulator/simulator_mavlink.cpp
+++ b/src/modules/simulator/simulator_mavlink.cpp
@@ -610,6 +610,13 @@ void Simulator::pollForMAVLinkMessages(bool publish, int udp_port)
 
 	const unsigned max_wait_ms = 6;
 
+	//send MAV_CMD_SET_MESSAGE_INTERVAL for HIL_STATE_QUATERNION ground truth
+	mavlink_command_long_t cmd_long = {};
+	cmd_long.command = MAV_CMD_SET_MESSAGE_INTERVAL;
+	cmd_long.param1 = MAVLINK_MSG_ID_HIL_STATE_QUATERNION;
+	cmd_long.param2 = 5e3;
+	send_mavlink_message(MAVLINK_MSG_ID_COMMAND_LONG, &cmd_long, 200);
+
 	// wait for new mavlink messages to arrive
 	while (true) {