A nanosatellite carrying a Google Nexus One smartphone has been successfully launched into space from India today.
The satellite -- built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) and the Surrey Space Centre (SSC) -- is the UK's first CubeSat to launch and will also be the first mission to place a smartphone into orbit. It weighs just 4.3kg and measures 10cm x 30cm. The aim of the mission is to see whether a smartphone could be used to drive a satellite. The satellite will initially by powered by a Linux-based processor with an altitude and orbit control system, but will attempt to transfer control of the satellite to the mobile device. The satellite will also test two innovative propulsion systems -- one using pulsed plasma thrusters and another water-alcohol propulsion system called, somewhat misleadingly, the "Warp Drive".
By: Olivia Solon, Edited by: Nate Lanxon
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via Wired.co.uk
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-02/25/strand-1-phone-satellite
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