In the small satellite space, an intrepid team at NASA has figured out that a stock Android HTC phone can work just fine as a low-cost satellite (it has a better processor than many satellites, and decent multi-axis sensors and GPS. They already know it works in a vacuum.)
Here it is mounted in a cubesat chassis with extra batteries and a yellow metal tape measure for an antenna.
Launched with a balloon from central California, this frame is from the video captured by a Go Pro HD camera at 100,000 ft. They tracked it with GPS and the APRS network, and followed the satellite beeping with a handheld antenna and HAM radio gear.
Image courtesy of NASA Ames Research Center 2011
I got some photos of the sounding rocket test over the summer (below) and here’s a cool video summary, and in HD (you can see me digging the V-2 out of the crater in the background =)
Gone-Walkabout, : Nils, ChrisRudge, straup, and 66 other people added this photo to their favorites.
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JulianBleecker 27 months ago | reply
Fantastic.
solerena 27 months ago | reply
Oh, would be cool to use it in the air!!!...had to turn it off while flying around the island on the helicopter yesterday:( not sure how one can test it..
Neil Zone 27 months ago | reply
Wow that's a great idea - amazing that phones are powerful enough to do that now!
Thanks for the interesting description :-)
born1945 27 months ago | reply
Great video quality, especially in the 1080p-HD.
vennettaj ( a bit away ) 27 months ago | reply
funny..
Pieces of Eye 27 months ago | reply
Awesome. Do you know of any satellites using optical aperture synthesis?
msamaclean ©...be back soon!...;-) 27 months ago | reply
Great video, Steve. I would love to be there for some of these launches. So exhilarating! Onward & upward.
Black&Color 27 months ago | reply
Way cool.
Michael Layefsky 27 months ago | reply
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing this.
Many of us are hoping to have Android phones controlling the servo motors and triggering the cameras on our kite and balloon aerial photography rigs before long. Along with these features, we also hope to have a real-time live video feed to assist with aiming/composition.
sbove 27 months ago | reply
Hacking space...very cool.
downgongway 27 months ago | reply
very cool
caseybarker 27 months ago | reply
mfrissen 27 months ago | reply
Was it rooted?
xouroborus 27 months ago | reply
Neat when someone repurposes tech. Did they do a write up for Instructables?
AND, Happy Birthday!
Mulberries 26 months ago | reply
Fascinating. Great to see this on Flickr.
atoosa9 25 months ago | reply
That is just too cool! It's blowing my mind. LOVE this kind of thing. Great shot!
PatrickPater 25 months ago | reply
Sweet :)
@scottjanousek 24 months ago | reply
Atmosphere is going to get very busy the next few years. :)
chumworth 10 months ago | reply
We used this image on ITworld.com: www.itworld.com/node/286300
Thanks!
jurvetson 4 weeks ago | reply
and a photo montage from a space conference...
