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Monday, 24 January 2011

Mobile to be used to control satellite

British engineers are to send a mobile phone into space to control a satellite

Satellite in space: Mobile to be used to control satellite
British engineers are to send a mobile phone into space to control a satellite Photo: ALAMY

The phone, which will run Google's Android operating system, will take pictures of the Earth later this year.

The project is being run by a British firm called Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, based in Guildford, which wants to test a modern phone in the most hostile environment possible, the BBC reported.

Although it will be a smartphone, the precise model has not been disclosed. It will be the first time a phone has gone into orbit.

Shaun Kenyon, the project manager, said: "Modern smartphones are pretty amazing.

"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.

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