SpaceLab for iOS is in an app we developed to work with Apple's iOS on iPhone^® 4 in order to perform experiments onboard the U.S. National Laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceLab for iOS app is manifested to be transported to the ISS on two, space certified iPhone 4's on the historic final mission of the Space Shuttle program, STS-135, on the orbiter Atlantis.

Four experiments are planned. The experiments contain step-by-step procedures to allow a crew member to conduct the experiments without the need for supplementary paper procedures.

Limb Tracker This navigation experiment will involve taking photographs of the Earth and matching an arc to the horizon through manipulation of an overlay. This performs the function roughly equivalent to a “manual” horizon sensor. It will yield an estimate of altitude (height above the surface) and “off axis” angle, a measurement of the angle of the image with respect to the Earth's center.

Sensor Cal This sensor calibration experiment uses a series of photos of a reference image, combined with propagated information using three-axis gyro and accelerometer measurements to calibrate the gyros and the accelerometers (i.e. bias and scale coefficients). This will improve the knowledge and accuracy of subsequent measurements.

State Acq State Acquisition - This navigation experiment uses a series of photos of a reference image and of the Earth, combined with information from the three-axis gyro and accelerometer, to estimate the position of the spacecraft (latitude and longitude). The position estimation is generated by manipulating and matching a wireframe overlay of the Earth's coastlines to the acquired Earth image(s). Performing multiple sequences, separated by a known amount of time, can permit estimation of the spacecraft's orbit parameters.

LFI Lifecycle Flight Instrumentation - This experiment will characterize the effects of radiation on the device by monitoring certain areas of memory for Single Bit Upsets - an unintended change in value of a memory location caused by exposure to radiation.

iPhone 4 was certified for spaceflight and is being transported to the ISS on the space shuttle via NanoRacks, LLC of Houston, Texas. NanoRacks provides low-cost hardware and integration services for the U.S. National Laboratory onboard the ISS. Both iPhone 4's will remain on the ISS for several months where the experiments will be conducted by the crew and data acquired and stored on the devices.

The app is available for download on the App Store^℠ so that ground based users can get a sense of experience and tasks to be performed by crew members on the ISS. Some features are simulated to account for the presence of gravity.

When the experiments are completed, both iPhones will be returned to Earth. The first opportunity for return will be on a Russian Soyuz vehicle in the fall of 2011. Flight data from the experiments are expected to be collected, analyzed, and then shared via this app on the App Store.

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