NASA Successfully Launches Three Smartphone Satellites

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April 22, 2013

Sonja Alexander 
Headquarters, Washington      
202-358-1761 
sonja.r.alexander@xxxxxxxx 

Ruth Dasso Marlaire 
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. 
650-604-4709 
ruth.marlaire@xxxxxxxx 


RELEASE: 13-107

NASA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES THREE SMARTPHONE SATELLITES

WASHINGTON -- Three smartphones destined to become low-cost satellites 
rode to space Sunday aboard the maiden flight of Orbital Science 
Corp.'s Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility in 
Virginia. 

The trio of "PhoneSats" is operating in orbit, and may prove to be the 
lowest-cost satellites ever flown in space. The goal of NASA's 
PhoneSat mission is to determine whether a consumer-grade smartphone 
can be used as the main flight avionics of a capable, yet very 
inexpensive, satellite. 

Transmissions from all three PhoneSats have been received at multiple 
ground stations on Earth, indicating they are operating normally. The 
PhoneSat team at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., 
will continue to monitor the satellites in the coming days. The 
satellites are expected to remain in orbit for as long as two weeks. 

"It's always great to see a space technology mission make it to orbit 
-- the high frontier is the ultimate testing ground for new and 
innovative space technologies of the future," said Michael Gazarik, 
NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington. 

"Smartphones offer a wealth of potential capabilities for flying 
small, low-cost, powerful satellites for atmospheric or Earth 
science, communications, or other space-born applications. They also 
may open space to a whole new generation of commercial, academic and 
citizen-space users." 

Satellites consisting mainly of the smartphones will send information 
about their health via radio back to Earth in an effort to 
demonstrate they can work as satellites in space. The spacecraft also 
will attempt to take pictures of Earth using their cameras. Amateur 
radio operators around the world can participate in the mission by 
monitoring transmissions and retrieving image data from the three 
satellites. Large images will be transmitted in small chunks and will 
be reconstructed through a distributed ground station network. More 
information can found at: 


http://www.phonesat.org 

NASA's off-the-shelf PhoneSats already have many of the systems needed 
for a satellite, including fast processors, versatile operating 
systems, multiple miniature sensors, high-resolution cameras, GPS 
receivers and several radios. 

NASA engineers kept the total cost of the components for the three 
prototype satellites in the PhoneSat project between $3,500 and 
$7,000 by using primarily commercial hardware and keeping the design 
and mission objectives to a minimum. The hardware for this mission is 
the Google-HTC Nexus One smartphone running the Android operating 
system. 

NASA added items a satellite needs that the smartphones do not have -- 
a larger, external lithium-ion battery bank and a more powerful radio 
for messages it sends from space. The smartphone's ability to send 
and receive calls and text messages has been disabled. 
Each smartphone is housed in a standard cubesat structure, measuring 
about 4 inches square. The smartphone acts as the satellite's onboard 
computer. Its sensors are used for attitude determination and its 
camera for Earth observation. 

For more about information about NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology 
Program and the PhoneSat mission, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/smallsats 

The PhoneSat mission is a technology demonstration project developed 
through the agency's Small Spacecraft Technology Program, part of 
NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. The directorate is 
innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in future 
science and exploration missions. NASA's technology investments 
provide cutting-edge solutions for our nation's future. For more 
information about NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit: 



http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech 

	
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