[Note: NASA is trying to launch the new ARES I-X rocket, scheduled right now for 10:54 Eastern time. As I write this weather is not so great so it may be a scrub, but follow me on my BANews feed on Twitter for the latest!]
I don’t usually talk about iPhone-specific stuff, but as it happens I own (a spiffy pink) one, and this is pretty cool.
NASA just released a new app for the iPhone, and I like it. It has info on missions, pictures, videos (links to YouTube), and more. It’s a pretty slick app, professionally put together.
You can filter the missions to look at using categories like Earth, Solar System, Moon and Mars, and so on. It tells you when it launched, what the mission elapsed time is (which is pretty nifty), and from there you can access images and video related to the mission. Not only that, but if you tap the Earth icon when a mission is displayed, it will show you a real-time map of the location of the spacecraft over the Earth! I checked it using the space station against the info at Heavens Above, and it matched closely.
If you start from the home page and tap the image icon at the bottom, you get a choice of pictures from NASA’s Image of the Day as well as the venerable Astronomy Picture of the Day. I checked those and they were up to date with the current day’s images, too. Nice.
Videos appear to be in reverse chronological order, which is nice. Also, if you tap the RSS symbol you get the NASA Twitter stream. Very well done.
Any complaints I have are minor. It refers to Fermi as GLAST, which was its name before launch– a year ago. Some missions are missing, and I hope they’ll put them in when they update the software. Swift would be a great candidate for this, especially if they give real-time access to when it sees gamma-ray bursts. Things like that would turn this app from something cool into something extremely handy. Also, it seemed a little slow to get started, even using 3G. I turned on my wireless connection and it zipped right up though.
Still and all, it’s worth the download. If you’re a geek like me (and c’mon, admit it: if you’re reading this blog in the first place, it’s too late to hide it) you’ll enjoy it.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Semi-off-topic: meanwhile it’s nailbiting time for the Ares 1-X launch!
October 27th, 2009 at 8:23 am
And it’s looking a little cloudy just now. Wouldn’t you think they would inform shipping that the danger zone was a no go area? What happened there?
Bob
October 27th, 2009 at 8:31 am
The individual mission Twitter feeds on the app don’t work well, though. The newest Constellation twitter is two months old, but they all show up in the main feed.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Augmented-reality satellite flare predictions would be nice.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I wrote them requesting a version for Windows Mobile and other phones, and was told it is in the works.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I assume jokes about “crashing” are to be avoided.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:12 am
re: Launch
As much as I want this to succeed, there is still that part of me that roots for a result similar to that montage from The Right Stuff.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:25 am
The launch is scrubbed.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Phil Plait:
Well, as of now, it is a scrub… this is more frustrating than watching a bloody game of cricket — Rain Stopped Play!
P.S. Looks like Phil got up early this morning for nothing!
October 27th, 2009 at 9:36 am
How ’bout a similar app for Android phone users?
Please?
October 27th, 2009 at 9:37 am
I may be a geek but I’m a broke one.
I’ve yet to even get a mobile phone of any sort.
But that’s okay, I’m quite happy with just enough money to run this computer and get the odd (well okay I never miss an issue & get quite a few!) astronomy magazines & books!
@ 9 IVAN3MAN AT LARGE :
)
(Your shout Ivan!
Ah, what the heck, I just love, love, *love* both my cricket & my rocket launches! Frustrating sure, part of the game – yup. Fun and worthwhile nevertheless? Absolutely!
Launch scrubbed? Oh well, at least it’ll be clean!
(Yes. Its late where I am – how’d you guess?
)
October 27th, 2009 at 9:45 am
@7. Patrick Says:
re: Launch : As much as I want this to succeed, there is still that part of me that roots for a result similar to that montage from ‘The Right Stuff’.
What the one where their drinking & driving in betwixt testing fighter jets or the ticker tape parade?
@ the BA :
If you start from the home page and tap the image icon at the bottom, you get a choice of pictures from NASA’s Image of the Day as well as the venerable Astronomy Picture of the Day. I checked those and they were up to date with the current day’s images, too. Nice.
Ah but can you get the Bad Astronomy Blog from there?
October 27th, 2009 at 9:52 am
I downloaded the app this morning, I’ve been killing time with it since!!
October 27th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Someday, Verizon Wireless’s network and Apple’s iPhone will join in glorious union, and there will be much rejoicing.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Argh! Need this for Blackberry!
October 27th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Phil,
Come on, real geeks use Android.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
awesome. hope they do it for the google phone (android) apps!
October 27th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
[...] the original here: NASA launches an iPhone app | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine Share and [...]
October 27th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Too bad AT&T sucks!
October 27th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
With respect, Cindy is wrong — real geeks use the iPhone, too. But only if they download an app that creates and speaks pirate curses…
October 27th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
I was at a party over the weekend out in Malibu, away from the light pollution of LA, and while I was stargazing, a fellow partygoer wandered over, aimed her iPhone at the sky and then announced, “That’s Vega.” I don’t know the name of the app, but it uses GPS positioning and the built-in camera, among other things, to look at the piece of sky the phone is aimed at and superimpose a star chart.
Needless to say, I had a nerdgasm over it. Almost enough to make me pay money to the evil kingdom of Apple. Almost… but not quite.