NASA's smartphone-powered satellite
Monday, July 11, 2011 - 13:00
in Astronomy & Space
In 1999, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor David Miller showed the movie, "Star Wars" to his students on their first day of class. Following the scene where Luke Skywalker spars with a floating droid "remote," Miller stood up and pointed: "I want you to build me some of those." So they did. With support from the Department of Defense and NASA, Miller's undergraduates built five volleyball-sized free-flying satellites called Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES); three of which have been on the International Space Station since 2006.