[amsat-bb] NASA tiny sats

[Robert McGwier]

NASA Preparing Mini-Satellites To Send Into Space Powered By The Nexus
One and Nexus S
posted on Aug 24th 2012 at 4:54am by Chris Chavez

The boys at NASA have been making headlines after hitting the sand
dunes of Mars with their mini go-cart, Curiousity, and it looks like
they have a few more surprises in store. A team from NASA’s Ames
Research Center has been hard at work developing miniature satellites
— called a “PhoneSat” — powered by, none other, than the OG Nexus One
and Nexus S. NASA has spent the last few years putting these PhoneSats
and the devices inside through the paces, testing them in a variety of
situations, destroying a few prototypes in the process.

Currently, the team has 2 nanosatellite prototypes that will be sent
up into space at different times. To see if something like this is
even possible, the first will consist of a Nexus One, external
batteries, external radio beacon, all inside a comfy 10x10x10cm shell.
If the PhoneSat 1.0 is a success, the team will send up the PhoneSat
2.0 with the more powerful Nexus S inside and featuring a 2-way S-band
radio, solar panels, and GPS receiver.

At $3,500 to build, NASA’s goal is to launch the “lowest-cost
satellites ever flown into space,” and plans to send ‘em on up later
this year aboard the Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket.
With plans to send future PhoneSats to the moon, it shouldn’t be long
before we see the Galaxy Nexus making an orbital space trip for
itself, finally at home amongst the galaxies.

http://phandroid.com/2012/08/24/nasa-preparing-mini-satellites-to-send-into-space-powered-by-the-nexus-one-and-nexus-s/


-- 
Bob McGwier
Technical Director, Allied Communication, LLC
Facebook: N4HYBob
ARS: N4HY