First Space Message Sent Using Mobile Phone Technology
Friday, 5. June 2009, 08:52:48
After its successful launch into space recently, the Herschel Space Observatory used cell phone technology to call back home — the first time the technology has been used in spaceflight.
Herschel and its partner Planck were launched in tandem aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
Herschel is the largest, most powerful infrared telescope ever launched into space. It will make observations in the far-infrared to sub-millimeter wavelengths of light that will allow astronomers to study cold, dark dust clouds and possibly star formation in action.
At 12:00 GMT (8:00 a.m. EST) on May 16 — just under two days after launch — Herschel switched its telemetry downlink to "high rate mode" and began transmitting, marking the first-ever use of Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK) modulation in space. GMSK is commonly used in Global System for mobile Communication (GSM) mobile phone networks due to its very efficient use of bandwidth and power.
Herschel and its partner Planck were launched in tandem aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
Herschel is the largest, most powerful infrared telescope ever launched into space. It will make observations in the far-infrared to sub-millimeter wavelengths of light that will allow astronomers to study cold, dark dust clouds and possibly star formation in action.
At 12:00 GMT (8:00 a.m. EST) on May 16 — just under two days after launch — Herschel switched its telemetry downlink to "high rate mode" and began transmitting, marking the first-ever use of Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK) modulation in space. GMSK is commonly used in Global System for mobile Communication (GSM) mobile phone networks due to its very efficient use of bandwidth and power.
WIDGETIZE