Software Review: @SAT Orbiter Locator+ - Space Exploration with Microsoft Smartphone
Mars, remote galaxies, orbiting of the earth, ... [version 3]
Are you fascinated with space exploration? Space stations, space shuttles, exploring Mars, etc? If yes, then this program for Microsoft smarpthone may be something for you - it will deliver you latest position of various man-made space cruising objects, latest news about them and also images of them or from them!
The program is not just a static stand-alone demonstration, but it is connecting over Internet to various servers, that contain relevant information and fetches it upon your request! So if you use GPRS or CDMA1x data connection remember to check out from time to time data usage (in case you donŽt have a flat rate Internet access in your Microsoft smartphone) so that you have costs under control! This application can also download images and since in some countries GPRS is expensive, you must be careful...
The software vendor of this program says, that it is a
Orbiter Tracking utility that allows you to track orbiters like the
International Space Station the Soyuz and the Space Shuttle as well as
download the latest images from the Mars Rovers and the Hubble
telescope.
In the following review we show you how it works and what it can do...
After you start the application you get this main selection "dialog":
... that allows you to select one of 5 currently available objects:
Mars Rovers (USA)
space station (ISS, international)
Soyuz (Russia)
space shuttle (USA)
Hubble telescope (USA)
After selection of each of this objects you have further a menu that is specific to each of them. For example when you select Hubble telescope you see this:
... where you can for example "Get Latest" image from Hubble. Picture above presents that screen, where you can observe that the transfer from server to smartphone is in progress and here you can see how it looks like after the transfer is finished:
In case of object that are orbiting the planet Earth you can see where at given moment such object is located. Here you can see the location of the international Space Station:
... and with a menu position "Next Overpass" you can calculate when will the station be orbiting of your city of interest:
When it comes to rovers - objects that are moving on the surface of planets (like Mars) you also are able to get a position of given rover (here: on Mars):
... and also you can view latest (!) pictures from the surface of the planet or pictures of the rover itself (including real and computer simulations):
... and you can zoom in any selected picture to get a closer look at it (here a monochromatic picture from the surface of Mars, but color pictures are available too):
... and you can also view latest news about given rover (here: "Opportunity" rover that is now on Mars):
Here are some comments from the software vendor about the images in this program:
If you click on Menu and select Images, you will see the thumbnail view.
The thumbnails are downloaded from the network and stored on your device.
Notice that the thumbnails are grayed out. When you click on a thumbnail,
the full-screen image it represents is automatically downloaded to your
device from the network, and the thumbnail will no longer be grayed out.
When you click on a highlighted thumbnail--meaning the full-size image is
stored on your device-- the image will load from your device instead of
being retrieved from the network. You can delete the full-screen image from
your device (the thumbnail will return to a grayed-out state) or you can
delete the entire image, including the thumbnail. Note that this deletion
is permanent, and there will be no way of downloading either the thumbnail
or full-screen image again.
We frequently add new images, and when we do, youŽll see new grayed-out
thumbnails in list. There are many more thumbnails than just those on the
first screen you first see, so scroll up and down on that list with the hat
button to view the rest.
The Hubble images work a little differently. When you select "Get Latest,"
the most recent Hubble image is downloaded to your device. There are no
thumbnails.
Conclusions: although there is no possibility to peek at the view from the space station in any given moment, this program offers many other features, that make it a very interesting piece of software, particulary for fans of space exploration.
To purchase the program, or to get more information visit the web site of the vendor here.
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