NASA's Next Nanosatellites Will Carry HTC Smartphones

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The last time I worked in electronics things like altitude, cold, radiation killed electronics. I don't think the cell phone in your pocked has been tested to altitude. May be the same type of circuits but they would requiring a lot more testing to see if it would work at altitude and therefore a lot more money.

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Did you guys just discover "Number Bases"??? Do you realize they've been around for donkey years - since man could count?? Why not post something meaningful in simple text so the exchange of ideas can proceed without needless delay? ...Meh.

Acredito que a NASA tem todas as ferramentas disponíveis para testar este processador HTC e satélite contra vacum, frio, calor e radiação sóis, necessário. Além disso, os meios para protegê-lo também.

@hollycow

See photo caption: PhoneSat 1.0, During High-Altitude Balloon Test NASA

I believe that NASA has all the tools available to test this processor against HTC and satellite vacum, cold, heat and radiation suns necessary. Moreover, the means to protect it too.

@JRS ONE I Blinged cell "phone operating temperature". Came up with a site that says Apple suggests a temperature range of 32 to 95 degrees (I expected about -20 to 150 degrees F) for their iPhone and I think HTC uses chips with the same operating temperatures. The temp at orbital altitudes is well out side these ranges. If the PhoneSat 1.0 lived they must have done something other than used a off the shelf cell phone.

One of the main points of this article is how powerful and useful processors have grown and come, even the one in the cell phone. My first comment was just subtly illustrating or hinting to, if we move away from this entire GUI and go back to the simplest line code programing , in many ways our home computer can seem like a mainframe from years ago.

Binary is a good thing and so are those other numbering systems too! ;)

Want you home computer to run really fast, load DOS, lol.
It's true, but no one will do it, ROFL.

We all so love our GUI!

yo dawg,

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Many typical electronic circuits are put in a heated\cooled maintained environment\box. The very same thing could be done with this simple processor as it is being sent into space. The concept is not knew and the box can be shielded from solar radiation to a certain point too.

I don't know if those operating temp's apply to the whole phone or just the screen due to the liquid crystal display freezing up. But I doubt NASA will have much need for the display. I could be wrong but I know on my phone only the display is affected by cold temperatures.

Data processing in space, designed around the task to be accomplished with simple processing code to do the task. Leave the human interface on Earth. Use less power in space by using less unnecessary gadgets and simple fast processing code. Put your electronics in an environmental sun radiation protect box.

KISS RULE, lol. See ya. ;)

@ajohnson1986 the cell phone has a suggested operating temperature as well as every electronic component in the phone. I'm not sure about cell phones but I would guess there is a least 10 items. Just like your desktop computer which has many more. The Apple range would apply to the entire phone and would be the most restrictive item in the phone, possibly the screen. If the nanosatellites do not have a screen they would not be off the shelf.

Yes NASA may buy off the shelf parts -"HTC CELL PHONE", but they can HACK and dissemble them and only use the parts necessary to accomplish the goal. NASA is not restricted to only use the operating\programming of the phone or its user screen\keyboard interface. They can use the parts and build the satellite as they choose.

NASA has really smart engineers and yes they know how to hack and make the most of limited recources.

Anybody see Apollo 13?

@new Robot I am not saying they could not use similar parts that are equivalent to those used in a cell phone. I am saying they could not use an off the shelf cell phone. This story misleads people into thinking you can walk into your nearest WalMart and get a phone you could use in space, you can't.

@hollycow I was just pointing out that you said the phone would have to be tested at altitude, when there is literally a picture of the phone being tested at altitude on this page. As Robot said, there is nothing saying the phone was not protected by external insulation/shielding, and every reason to believe that it was. This is hardly the first thing NASA has put in space. I'm sure they are well aware of what it takes to protect hardware, without looking up recommended iPhone operating temperatures.

I had an idea to use a smart phone in an amateur rocket years ago but there are some problems with programmed GPS limitations.

Dynamics:
Acceleration 4g (39.2 m/s^2)
Motional Jerk 20 m/s^3

Operational limits
Altitude < 18,000 m or velocity < 515 m/s
Either limit may be exceeded but not both (in non-military GPS receivers).

I was under the impression that these limitations where hard coded into comical GPS chips (like the ones in cell phones) to make them useless for many military applications.

Well, we'll see how all of this plays out. The source article implies that they will be using commercial smartphones.

Even if they're not, there's not much chance of upgrading the complex chip that is the heart of the phone. I doubt if anybody is offering rad hardened mil temp spec units.

As for putting it in a protected environment -- it's a 4.5 lb satellite. Not much available in the power budget for temp control, and not much available in the weight budget for any shielding. And there is that annoying hi g blastoff.

I hope the concept works. But I'd really like to know their strategies for the environmental issues.

ford2go,
I hope the concept works too. ;)

What? No iSatellites?

If it is good enough for space, it should be good enough for Mars. Yet they used that rather archaic computer on Curiosity.

African Rover,
Sometimes Engineers use old 'PROVEN' electronics, because all the technical and software bugs have been worked out and the equipment is.