A satellite with a click wheel? iPods being used in UK space program
Posted by Helper Monkey
Let’s see Dell’s Jukebox do this!
Macenstein reader Wolfman Mac pointed us to a rather interesting story at Telegraph.co.uk that discusses the efforts of a Brittish company that is manufacturing satellites out of various everyday components, ranging from DVD players to iPods. Surrey Satellite Technology Limited recently launched their Giove-A satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome satellite in Kazakhstan.
“We specifically make low-cost and quick satellites,â€? says Sir Martin Sweeting, the chief executive of STTL. “What we do is to take advantage of terrestrial technologies, such as mobile phones and DVD players. The consumer market has been leading the investment in technology.
“We take these components out of iPods and so on, and work out whether we can fly them in our spacecraft. Sometimes they will, and sometimes they will not.”
SSTL’s satellites are being launched as part of the Galileo project, an attempt to provide an alternative to America’s GPS satellite systems.
About Surrey Satellite Technology Limited:
SSTL was the first professional organization to offer low-cost small satellites with rapid response employing advanced terrestrial technologies. Over two decades, we have built a profitable business around our unique approach to space.
Today, SSTL employs over 200 staff and has been involved in 23 small satellite missions, making it the most successful and experienced small satellite supplier in the world.
