Google's Nexus One has dreamt of space travel for a while now, but on Monday it was finally launched into orbit aboard a CubeSat dubbed STRaND-1, which was developed by Surrey Satellite Technology and the University of Surrey's Surrey Space Centre. STRaND-1 now holds the honor of being the first PhoneSat and UK CubeSat that has made it into orbit. Alongside the HTC-made handset are an altitude and orbit control system, two propulsion setups and a Linux-based computer with a "high-speed" processor. After the Tux-friendly rig conducts a battery of tests, it'll relinquish control of much of the satellite's functions to the smartphone, which still runs Android.
Not only will the mission test how commercial, off-the-shelf tech can survive in the vacuum and conduct experiments, but it'll squeeze in some fun courtesy of apps developed by winners of a competition held last year. An app called 360 will let folks back on terra firma request their own snapshots of earth taken with the phone's shooter and pin them to a map. Ridley Scott might like to say no one can hear you scream in space, but another application loaded onto the device will put that to the test by playing user-submitted shrieks and recording them with the handset's microphone as they playback. Hit the break for more details and a brief video overview of the satellite, or jab the more coverage links to partake in the app shenanigans.
Via: CNET
Source: Surrey Satellite Technology LTD
Move over, Canadarm. You may have helped the space shuttle fleet repair the Hubble Telescope and build the International Space Station, but there's another robotic tool that's the apple of the Great White North's eye. Dextre, the Canadian Space Agency's dual-armed mechanical "handyman," has successfully refueled a faux satellite from the ISS as part of NASA's and the CSA's joint Robotic Refueling Mission. Not only did the exercise demonstrate how satellites could be juiced up in space and have their lives extended, but the CSA says it's a first for the history books, to boot. Since 2011, Dextre completed a trio of tests to show how it could service satellites that weren't built for being pried opened in space. Late this week, NASA and CSA robotics controllers removed two safety caps from a washing machine-sized mock satellite, snipped two sets of retaining wires and pumped in a bit of ethanol. Sure, you could take a Frankenstein-like approach and cobble together new satellites from old ones, but Dextre's trials indicate there's promise for a proactive tactic that would keep existing hardware humming.
Dextre Successfully Refuels Mock Satellite and Aces a Major Test for Space Robotics
Longueuil, Quebec, January 25, 2013 - Dextre, the Canadian Space Agency's robotic "handyman" on board the International Space Station (ISS), made space history last night by successfully refueling a mock satellite on the exterior of the station. Topping off the satellite's fuel tank was the pivotal task in the experimental Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM), a collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to demonstrate how robots could service and refuel satellites on location in space to extend their useful lifetime.
For RRM, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center designed a module simulating a satellite, as well as custom power tools for Dextre. Since RRM operations began in 2011, Dextre has performed three series of tests to show how a robot could service satellites, which were designed never to be opened in space. In this latest set of operations, Dextre removed two safety caps, cut through two sets of thin retaining wires, and finally transferred a small quantity of liquid ethanol into the washing machine-sized module. The latter maneuver was particularly tricky, since handling liquids in space required perfect precision to prevent dangerous leaks. The specialized tools built for the job allowed Dextre to seal the connections between the tool and the fuel valve to eliminate the possibility of leaks. Adding to the level of difficulty was the fuel hose itself, which adds additional forces that tend to pull Dextre's hands. It took the combined skills of the experienced NASA and CSA robotics controllers to pull off this first-of-a-kind space refueling demonstration successfully and without any mishap.
RRM is a significant step in pioneering robotic technologies and techniques in the field of satellite servicing-saving ailing space hardware by refueling or refurbishing them before they become space debris. The ability to refuel satellites in space could one day save satellite operators from the significant costs of building and launching new replacement satellites. With over 1100 active satellites currently operating in the near-Earth environment (many of them worth hundreds of millions of dollars), and an additional 2500 inactive satellites still orbiting around our planet, the savings could be substantial.
Via: CNET
Source: Canadian Space Agency
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, are hard at work, trying to find a way to make satellites less earth-shatteringly expensive, something called the Phoenix project.
They’ve come up with something that’s pretty much Wall-E, in space, in actual life. The plan is to have space robots pluck functional antennas off ...
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DARPA made some bold promises last summer when it announced its Phoenix program to harvest dead satellites for still-valuable parts, but it didn't have much more than some concept videos to show at the time. It looks like the agency has been making some steady progress since then, though, and has today released a new video showing some of the work it's done up through November of last year. As you can see after the break, that work is all still being doing in the lab, but it covers quite a few of the components that DARPA ultimately hopes to use in space, including robotic arms and gripping mechanisms. Those tests will remain Earth-bound for the next few years, but a demonstration mission is slated for 2016 to see how the system fares on an actual satellite in orbit.
Via: PhysOrg
Source: DARPA
Sure, we can pull space junk out of orbit with lasers or use it to cobble together new satellites, but if engineers at space firm Astrium UK have their way, space trash could be disposed of with the help of harpoons. Currently in a conceptual stage, the system is designed to shoot defunct satellites or other debris with a harpoon mounted on a "chaser satellite" and use a tethered propulsion pack to send the rubbish in an atmospheric descent where it'll burn up. Since the projectile could shoot straight through targets and result in even more garbage, it's been fashioned with a crushable portion to reduce its speed upon impact. There's no concrete word on when the outfit's solution might be put in action, but they'll present their work on Wednesday at the 63rd International Astronautical Congress in Naples (Italy, not Florida, mind you). If you can't wait to see the harpoon at work, head past the break to catch tests of an Earth-based prototype.
Continue reading UK engineers developing harpoon that could help space junk meet a fiery end
UK engineers developing harpoon that could help space junk meet a fiery end originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 05:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Inhabitat is always interested in finding innovative uses for old technology, and this week we saw artists and designers from around the world produce new things from old, unused or outmoded gadgets. In Osaka, a local goldfish club has been transforming old phone booths into gigantic public fish tanks. In another large-scale art installation, Babis Panagiotidis used 18,000 recycled computer keys to make a life-size rocking horse. London artist Leonardo Ulian also makes beautiful, ornate mandalas from bits and pieces of old circuitry. And Benjamin Yates makes his unique coffee tables from recycled circuit boards, old VCRs and computer components.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar panel printer, gold producing bacteria and a life-size of horse made of computer keys originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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