Nexus One could be one of the first Android smartphones to go into orbit

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The Nexus One may be a few iterations behind the latest Nexus handsets and other Android smartphones on the market, but that doesn't mean it isn't suited for a trip into space. As reported byZDNet, the University of Surrey's Space Centre (SSC) will soon send what it says is the first Android-powered smartphone into orbit. The handset will be strapped to the STRaND-1, a "CubeSat" (a small satellite used for research) and will launch from Sriharikota, India later this month.

SSC's lead engineer, Dr. Chris Bridges, told ZDNet that the crew had done some very thorough testing on the handset to make sure it could handle the varying temperatures and radiation. "It has a good chance of working as it should," he said. "You can never make true design evolutions or foster innovation without taking a few risks."

During flight, the STRaND-1 satellite will collect data with experimental applications. The satellite will run apps that were chosen in a Facebook competition—apps like Scream in Space, which will use the Nexus One's speakers to test whether someone can, in fact, scream in space. In the second phase of the flight, the STRaND-1 team will hand over the satellite's in-orbit operations to the Nexus One to test out its capabilities with this type of scenario. The flight will be one of the first attempts at controlling a satellite with a smartphone.

When asked why SCC chose the Nexus One, Bridges told ZDNet that it was simply "the best Android handset" available for the project. Last year, the team had put together a £250,000 (about $395,900) budget for the project, which Bridges had confirmed had been met. Satellites typically require specialized computing hardware, like radiation-hardened chips, which can be extremely expensive (one common example is the RAD750, a 200MHz PowerPC processor which costs about $200,000 for a CPU and compatible motherboard). A smartphone won't be flying a big spaceship anytime soon, but the data gathered from testing regular consumer hardware with open software in orbit will be helpful in lowering the cost of commercial and research access to space.

Source:Internet

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How to manage failure !!!

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Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam at Wharton India Economic forum , Philadelphia, March 22,2000

Question: Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?

Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India's "Rohini" satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch.

At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked.

One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order.

My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel.

So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal.

It was a big failure...

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference.

The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself.

He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed.

Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant.

Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, "You conduct the press conference today."

I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team.

The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

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