Their announcement is here. They’re calling each one a PhoneSat. The idea grew out of an attempt to see how cheaply a satellite could be built with prebuilt parts. The phones are acting as the satellite’s computer and are programmed to send radio signals and take occasional pictures.
So far, NASA reports that they’re operating normally.
I’m guessing we’ll be seeing iPhones lobbed into space soon. Bet it is burning Apple’s fitters that they sent an Android based phone up there.
I’ll bet they aren’t getting very damned many bars up there though.
Way to be proactive on E.T.'s need to phone home!
Isn’t there an app for that?
they added batteries and radio equipment. using the phone for its computer, camera, location. some interesting doings.
Well, they disabled the phone and texting functions, so I guess the no bars thing is kind of moot. It transmits, but doesn’t receive, and it transmits through an attached beefier radio.
I’m surprised that they kept the original cameras, but if that proves workable, it’s cheaper.
Maybe next time they can leave the phone and texting operable and challenge the entire world to contact it and leave a message.
it is transmitting in the ham radio bands.
Have they checked in at 4 square ?
Declan
NASA may have built the phonesats, but they were launched on an Antares rocket built by Orbital Science Corp, a private company. (And the Antares rocket uses refurbished engines originally built for the Soviet manned lunar program decades ago!) So it would be more accurate to say that NASA built some smartphone-based satellites, and then paid a private contractor using recycled Russian technology to launch hem.
Any reason they chose to go with a 3-year old phone rather than a newer Android? My only guess is they stared working on it back then, and just kept the phones they started with.
I mis-read that as ‘‘NASA launches 3 trombones into space.’’
Hey, if high-school students can do it…
(Okay, that was cameras instead of a phone, and on a balloon rather than a rocket, but hey, they only had a budget of $500!)
“Hi, this is NASA sat-phone 3. I’m not on earth right now, but if you leave your name, your number and a detailed message, I’ll get back to you…”
Does the GPS system work for locations more than a hundred miles above sea level?
True. Since they’re going for cheap and off the shelf, that sounds appropriate.
So instead of Vger coming back in 300 years, it will be Pho’t looking for the next stage of Angry Birds.
Most modern space launch vehicles and some guided sounding rockets use a combination of inertial navigation and GPS (integrated GPS/INS). Since GPS satellites are at about 15000 nmi altitude, this is feasible for LEO space vehicles. Above that, inertial navigation, Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), or the Deep Space Network (DSN) is used for location determination.
Stranger