News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on NASA has three smartphones orbiting the earth as mini-satellites. Parent comment

Re:NASA has three smartphones orbiting the earth as mini-sat... by twistedpair on Friday April 26, 2013 @01:55PM (#5614370)
This has been being done for a long time. Saturn V's were thrust vectored too. For any large scale rocked, the fins are far to large to move like on smaller missiles.

This works well to cut down on mass and drag and is especially useful for silo/sub launched missiles where fins don't fit well in the launch tube.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NASA has three smartphones orbiting the earth as mini-sat... by tiredofcareer on Friday April 26, 2013 @03:12PM (#5614847)
Before someone corrects you with a photograph, the ascent stage had fins in addition to the vectoring on the F-1s. However, my understanding, though I might be wrong, is that those were intended for stabilizing the vehicle instead of acting as control surfaces.
[ Parent | on HN ]