NASA is experimenting with new satellites
that use off-the-shelf electronics to cut down on costs. At the heart of
its new nano satellite is a Google Nexus smartphone, which has both the
processing power to run the orbiter and the sensors it needs to perform
its mission.
Today’s smartphone has many times the
processing power of all the used computers during the Apollo moon
landings. The approach NASA is taking in latest project is that which
uses off-the-shelf to electronics, including a Nexus One Android phone, in the construction of a new nano satellite.The Nexus One acts as the spacecraft on board computer. Sensors determine the orientation of the spacecraft while the smartphone’s camera can be used for Earth observations. Commercial-off-the-shelf parts include a watchdog circuit that monitors the systems and reboots the phone if it stops sending radio signals.
NASA’s PhoneSat 1.0 satellite has a basic mission goal–to stay alive in space for a short period of time, sending back digital imagery of Earth and space via its camera, while also sending back information about the satellite’s health.
The next version of Phone Sat will use the newer Nexus S and will have a mission more involved than mere survival. It will carry an S-band two-way radio,
which will allow NASA to control the tiny spacecraft on the ground,
rather than just receive transmissions. Phone Sat 2.0 will also have solar panels
to keep the phone’s battery charged, magnetor quer coils –
electro-magnets that interact with Earth’s magnetic field — and
reaction wheels, which will allow engineers to control the satellites orientation in space.
NASA expects to launch two Phone Sat 1.0 satellites and one Phone sat 2.0 this fall, hitching a ride on the new Antares rocket, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation. Orbital Sciences is a competitor of SpaceX , which designs the Falcon rocket competing with Antares for NASA contracts.
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