The spacecraft is controlled by just a regular smartphone

Dec 5, 2013 09:04 GMT  ·  By
This is the PhoneSat 2.4 cubesat developed at the NASA Ames Research Center, in California
   This is the PhoneSat 2.4 cubesat developed at the NASA Ames Research Center, in California

Officials with the American space agency say that one of their latest satellites to be launched in low-Earth orbit, called PhoneSat 2.4, has just gotten in touch with Earth. The diminutive spacecraft is a cubesat that weighs just 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds), and measure 10 centimeters (4 inches) on one side.

What sets PhoneSat 2.4 apart from all other satellites is the fact that its operations and capabilities are coordinated not by an on-board computer, but by a standard, commercially available smartphone.

The vehicle was launched into space on November 19, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), which is located at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, on Wallops Island, Virginia. It was carried into space aboard an Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) Minotaur I rocket.

PhoneSat 2.4 shared the launch adapter inside the rocket's payload fairing with 11 other satellites sponsored by NASA. The spacecraft was developed by experts at the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), in Moffett Field, California, and is expected to endure in orbit for up to 12 months.

“It's great to hear from NASA's most recent cubesat spacecraft. NASA is committed to opening up the high frontier to a new generation of explorers who can take advantage of these sorts of small satellites to do science and technology development at a fraction of the cost of larger, more complex spacecraft,” comments the associate administrator for space technology at NASA Headquarters, Michael Gazarik.

The main goal of PhoneSat 2.4 is to determine how off-the-shelf electronics behave in the harsh conditions of space over prolonged periods of time. If successful, this mission will basically demonstrate the efficiency of regular electronics for conducting high-value scientific missions.

Another reason why this satellite, and others like it, are so important is that they act like pathfinders for an upcoming NASA mission, called the Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks (EDSN), which is a Small Spacecraft Technology initiative.

The purpose of EDSN will be to launch 8 cubesats measuring 10 by 10 by 15 centimeters (4 by 4 by 6 inches) into low-Earth, to see whether or not such a constellation would be able to collect detailed data on space weather. The 2-kilogram (5.5-pound) vehicles will essentially study how the Sun interacts with the atmosphere.

Additionally, EDSN spacecraft will attempt to demonstrate new, small-scale, space-to-space communications technique. Each vehicle will be powered by a Nexus S smartphone.