Cheaper, Better Satellites Made From Cellphones and Toys

Instead of investing in their own computer research and development, engineers at the NASA Ames Research Center are looking to cellphones and off-the-shelf toys to power the future of low-cost satellite technology. Wired reports.

The smartphone in your pocket has about 120 times more computing power than the average satellite, which has the equivalent of a 1984-era computer inside.

�You can go to Walmart and buy toys that work better than satellites did 20 years ago,� said NASA physicist Chris Boshuizen.

The biggest challenge of sending cellphones and toys into space is whether the parts can get up there without shaking apart and work in a vacuum at extreme high and low temperatures.

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emily | 8:47 AM | Technology |
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