Direct Link: https://www.captechu.edu/blog/how-to-control-a-satellite-with-your-mobile-phone
On any given day, each of us will put our smart phone to a myriad of
uses. We may use it to shop. Communicate with colleagues, friends, and
family. Check the weather ahead of a plane trip. Monitor stocks. Track
our daily exercise routine. Check out the latest track from our favorite
artist.
How about using your mobile phone to command and control a satellite in orbit high above the earth?
Not
only is it possible in theory, but a group of Capitol students has
devised a practical way to put it into practice. The students’ endeavor –
dubbed Project Hermes – has attracted attention from space scientists and engineers, along with coverage in media outlets such as The Baltimore Sun.
“I
thought it was very clever and inventive on their part,” The Sun quoted
David Kusinerkiewicz, chief engineer at John Hopkins University’s
Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), as saying. “I can picture somebody
sitting in a Starbucks on their smartphone talking to their satellite
and getting data back. It’s a pretty cool concept.”
And the
concept has been tested. In 2015, Project Hermes enjoyed its first
successful space flight aboard a NASA rocket. Team members waited
expectantly – then exulted as letters appeared on their cell phones,
sent by the payload high overhead. The concept was tested again, with
successful results, at NASA’s RockSat-X program in the summer of 2017.
Now
another momentous milestone awaits: going into orbit. Integrated into a
combined Capitol satellite project known as Cactus-1, Hermes was
selected for NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI), with lift-off expected in the coming months.
Real-time
interaction using mobile devices has the potential to transform
satellite operations, says Capitol professor Risabh Maharaja, whose idea
– presented during his Introduction to Space class – was the genesis of
Hermes, with students then developing a way to put it into practice.
Currently,
he notes, operations are limited by a satellite’s footprint; commands
can only be given, or telemetry received, when a “bird” is within view
either of a ground station or relay satellite. The Hermes approach,
which utilizes the Iridium constellation of interlinked communications
satellites, changes all that. Mission control “could maintain
communication using commercial satellites with ordinary internet TCP/IP,
with potentially higher bandwidth and quicker response times than
conventional methods," Maharaja explains.
Hermes is only one example of the hands-on engineering projects
that Capitol students become involved with from their first year at the
university. The school’s educational approach stresses immersion in
practical projects from year one – a philosophy that distinguishes
Capitol from many other colleges and universities, where students do not
gain such exposure until their junior or senior years.
Other student-led projects at Capitol include TRAPSat, which is exploring a method of capturing space debris using Aerogel, and Project Aether,
which is investigating auroral effects on the atmosphere while also
testing new insulation system and comparing data rates from multiple
sources.
Gaining such practical experience is a major asset for
aspiring space systems engineers as they prepare for a career in the
industry, students say.
“Everything that we’re doing here benefits
the students and is helping us look better when we go out into the job
market,” says Hermes flight software specialist Christopher Murray. “Not
many people in a job interview can honestly say that they have
participated in designing a payload that went up into space.”
Dream
of a career working with rockets, satellites, and space? With a Capitol
degree, the dream is within reach. Find out more about our unique
program in astronautical engineering, or contact admissions@captechu.edu
www.CapTechU.edu
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