Will It Send?

A very small, 30cm-long, satellite is going to be sent into orbit by a team at Surrey Satellite Technology Limited of Guildford U.K. The satellite is going to be powered by a smartphone using the Google Android operating system, though the precise make and model have not been disclosed.

SSTL project manager Shaun Kenyon says "They come now with processors that can go up to 1GHz, and they have loads of flash memory. First of all, we want to see if the phone works up there, and if it does, we want to see if the phone can control a satellite." The company's goal is to find an inexpensive, off-the-shelf solution that can aid in lowering it's cost of design and development.

"We're not taking it apart; we're not gutting it; we're not taking out the printed circuit boards and re-soldering them into our satellite - we're flying it as is," Mr Kenyon explained.

"And, in fact, we're going to have another camera on the satellite so we can take a picture of the phone because we want to operate the screen and have some good images of that as well."

You see Apple? This is why an open platform is far superior to your closed model... just sayin.

Space Agency Seeks Better Communications In The North

The Canadian Space Agency is launching a concept study into the possibility of sending two new satellites into orbit that could improve weather information, telecommunications and internet access in Canada's North.

"Right now, there is a gap in terms of coverage by telecommunications satellites. which are more or less located around the equator," Gilles Leclerc, the CSA's director-general for space technology told CBC News.

"So, above 80 degrees latitude north, communications become very difficult."

If approved the satellites could be launched in roughly 7 years.

Russian - US Satellites Collide

A pair of Russian and US satellites collided some 780 km (485 miles) above Siberia on Tuesday leaving a trail of debris. The Russian civilian space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed the collision of the defunct 950kg (2,094lb) satellite, which was said to have launched in 1993. "Spokesman Aleksandr Vorobyev was quoted as saying the satellite had "in all likelihood... belonged in the past to the military", and was therefore not the responsibility of Roscosmos." according to this BBC report. NASA is tracking hundreds of pieces of debris from the incident and says there is little chance of incident between this debris and the International Space Station or Shuttle flights. The ISS is in orbit 435 km below the debris and has the capability to maneuver away from space junk if necessary, it has done so on 8 occassions in it's 60,000 previous orbits.

US spy satellite loses power - could strike Earth

Wired is running a story about a disabled U.S. Spy Satellite that according to government officials could hit the Earth in late February or early March. The satellite is said to possibly contain hazardous materials, like they don't know, and it is unknown as of yet where it might impact Earth. Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council, says "Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause." Don't know about you but this conjures up all sorts of "scrable the F-15's" type of scenarios in my head... the stuff that movies are made of!