Android In Space: STRaND-1 Satellite To Activate Nexus One

An anonymous reader writes "In as little as a few days, the British-made Surrey Training, Research, and Nanosatellite Demonstrator (STRaND-1) satellite will begin transitioning its key systems over to a completely stock Android Nexus One smartphone that's been bolted to the bottom of it. The mission is designed to test the endurance of off-the-shelf consumer hardware, and to validate Android as a viable platform for controlling low-cost spacecraft. STRaND-1 managed to beat NASA's own 'PhoneSat' mission to the punch, which will see a Nexus One and Nexus S launched into space aboard the April test flight of the Orbital Sciences Antares commercial launch vehicle, the prime competitor to SpaceX's Falcon 9."

Comments

Wow

[P-niiice]

This is so ridiculously cool. I'd never have imagined that cellphones would even be considered for such a thing.

Re:Sort of pointless

[AikonMGB]

Heh.. Proof right there that you're not affiliated with a US government agency.

That's right, I'm not, and neither are the developers of STRaND-1. I'm not even American. The world is a big place, not all of it is funded by the US government.

Re:Sort of pointless

[Bill_the_Engineer]

The article mentions that the battery is still installed in the phone. Keep in mind that this is a cubesat and things like temperature control, single event upsets, and outgassing are usually not considered mission critical since these are designed to be short lived amateur satellites in LEO (these sometimes live longer than planned, just no extra expense was made to insure longevity). This is to keep costs low while maintaining the programs original intent of education.