Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




MICROSAT BLITZ
PhoneSat: Smart, Small and Sassy
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 01, 2013


PhoneSat 1.0 during high-altitude balloon test. Credit: NASA Ames Research Center.

The fast-paced proliferation and popularity of mobile devices here on Earth, like smartphones loaded with powerful operating systems, will find a new niche marketa euros " this time in space, thanks to NASA's trailblazing PhoneSat project. To be rocketed into space early next year, PhoneSat is set to showcase use of lower cost, off-the-store-shelf, commercially available technology that enables space commerce, educational activities and citizen-exploration.

"PhoneSat demonstrates a philosophy of taking a creative idea, then building and testing that inspiration in a very rapid way...as opposed to long planning processes typical of larger spacecraft programs," said Andrew Petro, NASA program executive for Small Spacecraft Technology within the Space Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Petro said PhoneSat is an out of the box activity, one novel pathway being explored for small-sized satellites that, quite literally, "chip away" at lowering the cost of constructing future spacecraft.

PhoneSat takes advantage of commercial products already imbued with speedy computing chips, lots of memory and ultra-tiny sensors like high-resolution cameras and navigation devices.

That's a mix of attributes akin to what spacecraft require, Petro said.

"Those are already built into a smart phone and that's what we're taking advantage of in the PhoneSat Project, which could ultimately lead to very low-cost satellite designs."

Non-traditional hardware
"From the programmatic level, we're exploring the use of non-traditional hardware and systems providers...outside of what you normally call the aerospace industries," said Bruce Yost, manager of the Small Spacecraft Technology program at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., home to a tight-knit team of engineers that conceived of and developed PhoneSat.

"PhoneSat is a way to find other ways to do some of our space missions in a non-traditional manner," Yost said.

There are three prototype satellites built for launch in the PhoneSat Project, each a "nanosatellite" that is a 4-inch cube and weighs just three pounds. The three PhoneSats are dubbed Alexander, Graham, and Bell.

PhoneSat 1.0 makes use of Nexus One smartphone technology made by HTC Corporation and Google's Android operating system.

A beta version of PhoneSat 2.0 joins the two battery-powered PhoneSat 1.0 spacecraft. PhoneSat 2.0 is built around an updated Nexus S smartphone made by Samsung Electronics which runs Google's Android operating system to provide a faster core processor, avionics and gyroscopes.

PhoneSat 2.0 has solar panels to enable longer-duration missions and a GPS receiver. It also has magnetorquer coilsa euros "electro-magnets that interact with Earth's magnetic fielda euros "as well as reaction wheels to actively control the satellite's orientation in space.

"We're providing a set of 3 satellites, inserted into a spring-loaded dispenser attached to the launch vehicle. They're stacked in there like a toaster," said Jim Cockrell, PhoneSat 1.0 project manager at NASA Ames.

An Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares booster, roaring skyward from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Va., will eject the trio of PhoneSat spacecraft into low Earth orbit in 2013.

Creative and cost-saving approach
A creative and cost-saving approach in fabricating the solar paneled PhoneSat 2.0 is the use of Triangular Advanced Solar Cells, or TASC. Purchased from Spectrolab of Sylmar, Calif. at a modest price, the solar cells are "leftovers" from the manufacturing process of larger solar cells.

Cockrell said the cells are very small so it took more of them to cover the given surface area available on the PhoneSat. The cells offer high efficiency (27 percent) and, as they are a byproduct of the fabrication of larger cells, they are sold very cheaplya euros "about $250 for a quantity of 100, he noted.

Yet another cost-cutting avenue taken was the PhoneSat project's use of economical, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) brushless DC motors.

Cockrell said that the mass of the motors armatures provide all the momentum needed. "No external flywheel is attached, and they have built-in speed controllers," he said, "so the mechanical and electrical designs have minimum moving parts and are simple."

Because they are COTS hardware they are inexpensive. For comparison, Cockrell added, the least expensive, space-qualified, purpose-built attitude control system for CubeSats can cost two orders of magnitude more than the PhoneSat attitude control system made from COTS parts.

Technology demonstration
"The PhoneSat project is kind of a technology demonstration effort," said Jasper Wolfe, technical lead for attitude determination and control of the launch vehicle for the PhoneSat Project at NASA Ames.

During the PhoneSat Project's time in orbit, a global amateur radio community will be engaged, able to download and upload packets of data. Wolfe is anxious to see how they creatively utilize the Earth orbiting PhoneSats.

"Personally, one of the other benefits from PhoneSat is inspirational...demonstrating cool, cheap technologies that can inspire a lot of people to get involved in space," Wolfe said.

"We want to keep up with all the technologies that are coming out and continually find new applications for technologies from other industries, particularly low-cost industries." NASA's Petro said the PhoneSat Project is a forerunner of things to come that can decrease the costs of future small spacecraft.

"It really is a revolution...and it's happening," Petro said. "My goal is to get in front of this wave and not be carried along by it...and see where NASA can make a contribution to the field."

For more information about PhoneSat, visit here

.


Related Links
PhoneSat at NASA
Station at NASA
Microsat News and Nanosat News at SpaceMart.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








MICROSAT BLITZ
Russian Rocket will launch Scotland's First Satellite
Glasgow UK (SPX) Dec 28, 2012
Scotland's first satellite will be launched from a Russian Soyuz-2 rocket in March 2013. UKube-1, built by Clyde Space in Glasgow, is now completing final testing at the company's headquarters before making the journey to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the launch. Confirming that agreement had been reached for the Russian rocket to carry UKube- 1, Clyde Space CEO Craig Clark, sa ... read more


MICROSAT BLITZ
Russia designs manned lunar spacecraft

GRAIL Lunar Impact Site Named for Astronaut Sally Ride

NASA probes crash into the moon

No plans of sending an Indian on moon

MICROSAT BLITZ
Curiosity Rover Takes Detailed Self-Portrait on Mars

Russia May Join ExoMars Project in Q1 2013

Working Through the Holidays

Clays on Mars: More Plentiful Than Expected

MICROSAT BLITZ
Satellite highs, suspension lows for Indian space sector in 2012

NASA's Destination Station Exhibit Opens In Mesa, Arizona

NASA Puts Orion Backup Parachutes to the Test

White House to honor scientists, inventors

MICROSAT BLITZ
Mr Xi in Space

China plans manned space launch in 2013: state media

China to launch manned spacecraft

Tiangong 1 Parked And Waiting As Shenzhou 10 Mission Prep Continues

MICROSAT BLITZ
Station Crew Ringing in New Year

Expedition 34 Ready to Ring in New Year

New ISS crew docked at Space Station

Expedition 34 Spends Christmas in Space

MICROSAT BLITZ
Russian rocket launch rescheduled

Investigation into Proton Launch Anomaly Continues as Root Cause is being Evaluated

NASA's Space Launch System Core Stage Passes Major Milestone, Ready to Start Construction

Investigation into Proton Launch Anomaly Continues as Root Cause is being Evaluated

MICROSAT BLITZ
A stray planet

Spiral Structure of Disk May Reveal Planets

Closest sun-like star may have planets

Nearby star is good candidate for Earth-like planets

MICROSAT BLITZ
Thai 'scavengers club' turns trash to treasure

Malaysia convoy in Australia rare earth plant protest

All Systems Go for Highest Altitude Supercomputer

Foam's Future Seen in Space and Industry




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement