* Astronomy

Satellite innovators launch smartphone Space App competition

Surrey experts in space technology have today launched a Facebook competition challenging the British public to develop innovative applications that will run on its smartphone-powered satellite due for launch into space next year.
STRaND-1 (Surrey Training, Research and Nanosatellite Demonstrator) weighs just 4kg and is a collaborative effort between engineers at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) and University of Surrey researchers. It is being built in their free time to test innovative ideas for lower cost space missions.
In the spirit of the mission, the four most creative, novel and fun 'App' ideas will be selected to fly on the Android phone inside STRaND-1. Winners will be invited to STRaND's Mission Control to observe their app on the nanosatellite as it orbits Earth.
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