A phone sat is a type of CubeSat, or minisatellite, that is designed to be controlled by a smartphone. The first phone sat was developed by researchers at the Stanford University Space Systems Development Laboratory and launched in 2013. Since then, several other organizations have built and launched their own versions ofphone sats.
The key difference between a traditional CubeSat and a phone sat is the type of onboard computer used for control and data processing. A phone sat uses a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) smartphone as its flight computer, rather than the more expensive, purpose-built computers typically used in space missions. This makes phone sats significantly cheaper to develop and launch than traditional CubeSats.
In addition to being less expensive, COTS smartphones also offer some advantages over purpose-built computers when it comes to spaceflight. For example, smartphones are equipped with powerful processors and sensors that can be used for scientific payloads or spacecraft control. And because they are mass-produced devices, there are many more smartphones available for use in space missions than there are purpose-built computers.
While most CubeSats use amateur radio frequencies for communications, phone sats typically communicate using the cellular network. This allows them to take advantage of the widespread infrastructure already in place for cell phones on Earth. It also means that phone sats can be tracked using standard cell towers, making them easier to locate if they malfunction or crash back to Earth.
So far, phone sats have been used primarily for research and demonstration purposes. However, as their capabilities continue to increase and their costs continue to decrease, it is likely that we will see more practical applications for these little satellites in the future