![SpaceLab for iOS app](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5dn6Vck1EKGLhQRBwSjbQroKFh-pKvh4gLjtzo1cCuXFhqWtBOP13m0zsvaHfFm-PwkJkyJl-btaHR9mDELsmsylywPQJq15YXcdSM_Z0sMbyHjApdOjET5yPluVoQPozhXomDpuTI4/s320/583364main_Smartphone1_226.jpg)
International Space Station National Laboratory partner NanoRacks LLC has a collaboration with Odyssey and Apple. This relationship enabled Odyssey to send two iPhone 4's to the space station as part of the STS-135 mission on July 8, 2011. These phones are just like the ones you can find at the store, but with certain alterations to meet NASA flight certification standards. It took less than a year to make the necessary changes and launch the devices to the station.
The iPhone 4 was selected for its mix of features, according to Odyssey CEO Brian Rishikof. "It had a three-axis gyro, and accelerometer, a high resolution camera and screen, and the means to manipulate the image. We had done some projects in the past that used all those features, but of course it was big, dedicated equipment and suddenly here it is in this small little package," said Rishikof.
![Screenshot of SpaceLab for iOS app](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5JM-sTzvRLQ7rOSzis8yG6TtUenLxHzT1l138bRCUHxYji406zI_Dr1Ho_YeORP6H8tsdybXkj1unqdqKS0lyr6jmg7N8zKPjnsp8YA-kZm3EzFipoCTwo9I0ZLV_sC-fGK2uLay5XA/s320/583261main_iPhone2_226.jpg)
These devices are part of an investigation called NanoRacks Smartphone, which looks at how the phones will operate in space. The hope is to use the compact hardware in future research studies and to augment crew performance and productivity in operational activities. Currently there are four separate experiments that will run on the smartphones via SpaceLab for iOS.
The first study is Limb Tracker, a navigation experiment using photos of the Earth and image overlay manipulation to match the horizon to an arc to give an estimate of altitude and off-axis angles. Next is the Sensor Calibration or Sensor Cal experiment, which uses reference photos and the three-axis gyro and accelerometer for calibration to improve measurement accuracy.
The State Acquisition or State Acq experiment also uses photos, but this time to estimate spacecraft orbital parameters. After the first three investigations are complete, the Lifecycle Flight Instrumentation or LFI experiment will operate to track the impact of radiation on the phones. To do this, the devices will monitor radiation-induced single bit upsets, which are unintended changes in memory location values.
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