Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/30/nexus_one_rocket/
Nexus One phone rockets to 28,000ft
Android in spaaace
Posted in Mobile, 30th July 2010 10:45 GMT
Free whitepaper – Hands on with Hyper-V 3.0 and virtual machine movement
If you've ever wondered what happens when you stick a Google Nexus One phone in a rocket and blast it to 28,000ft from the Nevada desert, then here's your answer:
This fine piece of tomfoolery was the work of rocket fans down at the Mavericks Civilian Space Foundation [1], who provided a launch vehicle for the "Nexus One/Arduino SmallSat", designed to "demonstrate some open source apps that can convert an Android based smartphone into a satellite controller".
The SmallSat is the work of Cellbot.com Googler Ryan Hickman, ably assisted by NASA Ames contractors Matthew F. Reyes, Chris Boshuizen. There's more here [2].
Mavericks chairman Thomas Atchison said of the SmallSat concept: "The purpose of flying the Nexus One is to find a low-cost satellite solution. The radio, processing power, sensors and cameras in smartphones potentially have the same capability as those in satellites.”
He added: "Today’s satellites are the size of Greyhound buses, but I believe they are going to get smaller and more frequently deployed. This is a first-step effort.”
If you fancy trying this at home, you'll need said Nexus One (subject to availability [3]), an Intimidator 5 rocket [4], a parachute, some insurance and a large desert. ®