If I was an astronaut, would NASA let me fly with my cell phone so I could call my boyfriend whenever I want?

Answer 1

hi there good morning

NASA is the next big thing to being a president. I am sure they might or even would have other means of cell calling. They have everything if it was not for ASTRONAUTS we here on earth would not be using computers and cells phones thanks for those satelite they put in outer space and the very one million rich who can now travel to space for a fee.

If your dream is to be a ASTRONAUT or even work in NASA I wish you the very best cause dreams do come true and about the boyfriend do not let him chase your dreams away dream high and be alive .

be well be safe god bless

Answer 2

I'm sure this is a joke, but here's a serious answer:

No.

First, for most of your time you're flying over oceans.  There's no service in the Pacific.

Second, you're 250 miles up.  Your phone probably doesn't have the range to reach cell towers from that far away, and the cell antennas are aimed to catch signals from the horizon instead of overhead anyway (most people are on the ground).

Third, if you could reach the cell towers, you'd reach dozens or hundreds of them.  The reason cell phones are cellular is to allow the same radio channel to be re-used many times across different areas (the smaller the cells, the more times it can be re-used and the more people can talk at once).  You'd be hogging a huge part of the network.

Fourth, you'd be moving at almost 5 miles a second.  If you could reach a cell from 200 miles horizontally on either side you'd pass across its area in about a minute and a half.

Fifth, Doppler shift would be way higher than what the radio systems are designed to compensate for.

NASA talks to Shuttles and the ISS using the TDRS network, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites.  You'd be best advised to use that instead, and besides — if you are up on a space mission, NASA is going to keep you too busy to yak on the phone anyway!

Answer 3

The range of cell phones is rather limited Mam. Most common cell phones are 1/3 Watt units rather than the older 3 Watt portables we used to see all over the place.

Also, most vehicles that NASA would let you travel inside of are made of one type of metal or another - special aluminum, and titanium structures which do not let in/out much in the way of RF signals which are necessary for cell phones to work.

Since most NASA vehicles, whatever type they are, come equipped with working radio links to some control center or another, I think you would be more successful sending your partner some EMail messages over those radio links if they have that software capability programmed into their systems. Folks have to stay in touch with each other so I am certain that there is some provision for that capability.

Also, while your cell phone may work at home, and over reasonable distances from your home, I don't think that the average cell phone service provider has included outer space regions into his roming area contracts. It is highly likely you will see the little message pop up on your screen that says "No Signal."

Answer 4

You probably would not get your cell phone because one, it might be too heavy, two, there's a good chance it could mess up other radio equipment on board a spaceship or space station (which can be very fatal in space), and three, during a flight you will be far above the surface of the Earth and possibly in areas with no cell phone towers, so it is likely that much of the time you would get no reception. The spaceship or space station you would be on would itself have a number of radios and perhaps some non-radio communicators which DO get reception, so there would probably be no difficulty calling the Earth, despite having no cell phone. However, generally astronauts have a very busy schedule defined by the precise tasks set forth in the mission plan, and you would not have very much free time for casual phone calls.

Answer 5

Cell phones rely on cell phone towers, and those have a very limited range (precisely to allow another cell to coexist just besides). Cell size range between 1 and 10 miles. The space shuttle orbits between 170 miles and 400 miles, totally out of range of communication towers. Moreover, going around the globe once every 90 minutes (including long period over oceans where there is NO cell towers) the shuttle would go in and out of even the largest 10 miles cells in just 2 seconds.
NASA would have reservation about sending someone up who would not focus on the mission first and foremost, so asking this question would most likely disqualify you from being considered in the first place.

Answer 6

I watched a program on C-Span on which Chris Jones, the author of a book called "Too Far from Home" about the International Space Station, was interviewed. He mentioned that American astronauts who spent time on the space station had their cell phones with them. They called their families and even used the phones to call florists and gift shops to order flowers and presents for anniversaries and birthdays of people they knew. It sounded to me like they can use cell phones just the same ways that we do back here on the ground.

Answer 7

Cellular Phones work off of transmission towers, you'd be to high up to get any signal. You could use a Satellite phone for a while, but even that has it's limits. Otherwise the only transmission you'd have would be to Space Command.

Answer 8

no by fact they use a sort of video telephone. Like conversing on your laptop to somebody on there laptop. yet why no longer they permit a astronaut interior the 70's take a 7 iron, and he have been given a 1300 backyard force in one shot on the moon. And Virgil "Gus" Grissom took 5 penny rolls in to area with him on the third or 4th Saturn 5 launches.

Answer 9

a cell phone's coverage probably doesn't extend into space. however, it still might work. on 9/11 the cell phones weren't supposed to have coverage at the altitude that the planes were at, yet they did (contrary to what some conspiracy kooks might think), so you might get coverage in space but it would also be likely that you would lose your signal a lot., i don't think anyone has brought a cell into space yet, be interesting to see.

Answer 10

I don't think cell phones work in space.