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Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) are planning to send a mobile phone running on Google's Android operating system into space; the phone will be tested to see whether it can operate in the harsh conditions of space, and whether it can then be used to control a 30cm-long satellite.

SSTL has earned a worldwide reputation for its small satellites, and the company has managed to reduce the cost of its systems by incorporating components that were originally developed for consumer products such as laptops. This venture is part of the company's ongoing quest to find more inexpensive, off-the-shelf electronics that can be used to lower the cost of its satellite designs. This project is a collaboration between the company and researchers from the local university's Surrey Space Centre.

To precisely point and manoeuvre, the satellite will be incorporating advanced guidance, navigation and control systems including miniature reaction wheels, and a GPS receiver, as well as innovative pulse plasma thrusters to propel it through space. The intention is that the phone be given the chance to oversee all these subsystems. "We're trying to use as much of the capability of the phone as possible," said Doug Liddle, head of science at SSTL.

"Ideally, the phone can take control and do the thinking."

Chris Bridges from the Surrey Space Centre commented: "If a smartphone can be proved to work in space, it opens up lots of new technologies to a multitude of people and companies for space who usually can't afford it. It's a real game-changer for the industry."

You can read the full press release on the SSTL website.

This news story originally appeared on the BBC News website