# Could an astronaut use their cellphone in outer space? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2011, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-an-astronaut-use-their-cellphone-in-outer-space/581638 "2011-05-12T11:25:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-an-astronaut-use-their-cellphone-in-outer-space/581638/41 "2011-05-14T17:12:39Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I don’t fly often, but the last time I did, between London and Rome in about 2008, mobile phones were permitted and worked well. I’ve received calls and Facebook messages and tweets from many people on planes since then. The FCC and FAA only have authority over the U.S. Their European counterparts allow cell phones, although I’m not sure if that applies to all European countries or not. Coincidentally, the only case I personally have read about where a passenger with a cell phone managed to completely block communications between a large commercial plane and the tower was in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-an-astronaut-use-their-cellphone-in-outer-space/581638/42 "2011-05-14T17:22:42Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Ima gonna use my cellphone to throw it at your head. and I don’t need an app for that. That’s not a cellphone, it’s a space station. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-an-astronaut-use-their-cellphone-in-outer-space/581638.md?page=2)