Tags: App, Satellite Imagery, Smartphone, Cubesat, International Space Station
Publication: Tuaw.com
Publication Date: 03/24/2013

Screenshot from Satellite Safari. Image credit: Southern Stars

A new app from Southern Stars for Apple devices allows users to access a complete database of spacecraft orbiting Earth. For $2.99 the Satellite Safari app features a number of views of the spacecraft such as from Earth, from above the Earth or right next to the orbiting satellite with the sun’s lighting at the correct orientation. At the orbital view, users can zoom in to see details of the satellite, or rotate the image to see it from any angle.

The app enables satellite industry enthusiasts to locate satellites in real time, and try to spot them with binoculars. The satellite positions are updated every second, and the position calculations are updated every day.

Satellite Safari is the official app of the Sky Cube Mission, which is expected to launch from the International Space Station in September. Once it is deployed, users will be able to request their own satellite images and broadcast their own messages from orbit as “tweets from space” using the Satellite Safari app.

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