STRaND-1 is a failed "3U" CubeSat developed by Surrey University'sSurrey Space Centre and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. The nanosatellite was launched into orbit on board a PSLV Rocket from India on February 25, 2013, Smartphones have flown in space before inside the International Space Station, and the computer from a PDA launched inside two Japanese CubeSats in 2006 and 2008. STRaND-1 initially operated with a conventional CubeSat computer before it was supposed to be switched over to an on-board Android-based Nexus One smartphone, but STRaND 1 failed to work and stopped communicating with Earth, before engineers at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., the builder of the spacecraft, were finally able to turn on the smartphone control system several months later. Thus making NASA's PhoneSats the very first three working smartphone satellites in space, and making STRaND-1 a much later, but eventually the 4th working smartphone satellite in space
Design and operation
STRaND-1 is operated by two computers: one is the classic CubeSat computer and second is a Google Nexus One smartphone running the Android operating system. There was a public contest in August 2011 to create "space apps" to run on various satellite smartphones, including NASA's PhoneSat series. The winning Android app entries for STRaND-1 included an app for magnetic field measurements, satellite telemetry display, an Earth imaging application called , as well as one app which is purported to allow users to see people scream in space, although the smartphone never properly turned on and the developed apps were never used. The smartphone was intended to provide cameras, accelerometers and high-performance computer processors - almost everything except solar panels and propulsion. During the first phase of the mission, STRaND-1 was intended to use a number of experimental apps to collect data, while a new high-speed Linux-based CubeSat computer developed by SSC takes care of the satellite. During phase twothe STRaND team intended to switch the satellite's in-orbit operations to the smartphone, thereby testing the capabilities of a number of standard smartphone components in a space environment. However, the smartphone on board STRaND-1 was never able to turn on, and was not used to control the failed satellite before the computer unexpectedly turned off in March 2013. On July 23, 2013 Mike Rupprecht DK3WN received signals from the UK STRaND-1 satellite after a near four-month absence.
