New NASA satellites are powered by everyday items
It's hard not to get freakishly excited when science fiction becomes scientific fact -- especially when the origins of that science are rooted in Star Wars.
Think back, young Jedis, to the scene where a fresh-off-Tatooine Luke Skywalker is honing his light saber skills under the tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi. A round, floating robot called a remote helps Luke practice his Force-finding mojo. Now, NASA is running experiments with miniature satellites, or nanosatellites, that were inspired by that fictional robot.
Roughly the size of a soccer ball, these robots that fly freely in space are called Spheres (which is short for Synchronized Position Hold Engage Reorient Experimental Satellites). Star Wars connection aside, there's another remarkable detail about Spheres: they're powered by smartphones, specifically a Google Nexus S.
David Korsmeyer, director of Engineering at NASA Ames Research Center, said that using a smartphone covered all the bases. "You've got the accelerometer, you've got a high-end computer, you've got a magnetometer, you've got a camera... location, all the comm, all the memory. We thought why not just take that and see how much of this can be turned into an actual satellite," he said.
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