NASA Launches Smartphones into Space: Cheap Satellite Program Blasts Off

It's not only The Doctor who takes a smartphone into space. NASA has launched three smartphones into orbit as a part of its low-budget, experimental satellite program that uses off-the-shelf components.

The mission is relatively simple. The goal of each "PhoneSat" is to snap photos of the Earth and send back periodic radio messages. The space agency essentially wants to see what these phones are capable of, and whether they might be able to supply the "brains" for future satellites that are launched into space.

The launch itself actually occurred on Sunday. That's when Orbital Science Corps's Antares rocket blasted into space from Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia. The initial launch was a success and currently, the smartphones are orbiting Earth at an altitude that's 150 miles above the surface of our planet.

If you were to see these Phonesats, though, you may not immediately recognize them as being phones. The three satellites, about the size of coffee mugs, were all built around a standard cubesat frame about four inches square. The satellites possess external lithium-ion batteries to power them and radios powerful enough to reach Earth, according to Gizmag. The actual smartphones merely serves as the "brains" of the satellites, while sensors are used to maintain altitude.

Yet not all of these Phonesats are the same. Two of them are based around the Google-HTC developed Nexus One smartphone running Google's Android operating system. Their mission is to simply function and send back images. The third phone, though, is a bit different. It's based on the Google-Samsung developed Nexus S smartphone and is solar powered; it uses panels made from scraps left over from building larger panels, according to Gizmag. With a larger processor than the other two phones, it's equipped with a GPS receiver, S-band radio, gyroscopes for altitude control and magnetorquer coils, which are designed to interact with the Earth's magnetic field.

Currently, the three satellites are sending back signals to mission control at Ames Research Center in California and amateur ground stations. The satellites are expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere within the next two weeks, and will unfortunately not survive the intense heating. Yet this experiment could allow NASA scientists create much lower-cost satellites by using equipment that's already available on the market.