Windows Phone Thoughts: @Sat Orbiter Locator+ Reviewed

I don't know about you, but I have been obsessed with the recent Mars space missions. When I saw that Survivorsoft had an app to help you track these missions, I was ready to explore. Join me on that adventure as I review @Sat Orbiter Locator+.



@Sat Orbiter Locator+ by Survivorsoft lets you easily track space missions from the palm of your hand.

Overview
@Sat by Survivorsoft is a nice piece of software that quickly lets you check up on your favorite space missions. With it, you can check the position of various manned and unmanned missions. It will also give you the latest news and pictures from those missions. The Survivorsoft Web site states that you will need to have Windows Mobile 2003 to run currently run the app since it's based on the .NET Compact Framework (SP1). I have tried the program on my iPaq 3765 with Pocket PC 2002. There are some problems and it is quite slow. I'd recommend this only to Windows Mobile 2003 users at this time.


Figure 1: The main selection screen. Pick your favorite mission.

Here are the missions you can track:

• Mars Rovers (Spirit & Opportunity);
  
• International Space Station;
  
• Hubble Telescope;
  
• Soyuz (ISS return transport);
  
• Space Shuttle.

@Sat has a very simple interface that's a nice change of pace for anyone who has ever tried to track satellites on the Pocket PC. All you do is pick from the five main missions and you're taken to the Tracking Screen which shows the location of that object. (If you pick the Mars Rovers, you first pick which rover to focus on: Spirit or Opportunity)

Mission to Mars
I must say, I truly have Mars fever right now. I even stayed up late to watch the landing of the Spirit rover. It's just great to see NASA get back to what it does best: exploration. That's what I love about this app. It lets you get in on the action of the Mars missions while they happen. It's like being a NASA insider.


Figure 2: The Tracking menu for the Spirit Rover.

As you can see, the Spirit rover is currently located in the center of the Gusev crater. To the West, you can see where Beagle 2 was supposed to land. You can get more info about the mission by choosing either News or Images from the menu.


Figure 3: The latest news on Spirit.

The News is just a simple text file with the latest info. It gives you a quick overview of the latest accomplishments of the mission. The data so far has been updated about once a day. Very nice. Of course, you do need to have a network connection to get the updates. I've been using ActiveSync and it has worked great. This should work with a wireless connection as well but I can't try that out with my current set up.

Pictures Mars
If all this app had was the tracking and news features, it would be a good program. But, @Sat has more to offer. For each orbiter, you can view the latest images from space. Since Spirit is an active mission, there are plenty of images to view.


Figure 4: List of current images for Spirit.

When viewing images, you start off with a set of thumbnails. Clicking on them brings up the full images. Once the full image is displayed, you can get info about that image. The info works just like the News on the orbiters, it's a recently updated text file.


Figure 5: Spirit's first color picture of the red planet.

The full images fill the Pocket PC screen. The resolution is a bit low but the pictures look great. I'm sure this depends on the quality of the original images. Once you've downloaded Images and News through you Internet connection, that data is saved on your Pocket PC. You can then view them offline. This is a nice feature for those of use who are not using wireless devices.

Overpasses
The last feature of @Sat is the Overpass calculator. For the orbiting missions, you can track when you can see that object in the sky. The app comes with a list of 473 different cities for you to choose from. Pick the one closest to you (by clicking the up/down arrows) and @Sat will calculate the next opportunity for you to see that orbiter yourself. I'll admit, I haven't confirmed the accuracy of this yet. My next opportunity is in a few days so I'll try then and provide an update.


Figure 6: Calculating the next ISS Overpass.

Once the calculations are complete, you'll get details on when and where your next Overpass opportunity is. All you have to do then is look up in the sky and find your object. The ISS has always been pretty easy to spot around sunset/sunrise. With this app, you'll be able to pinpoint the best times for you to view it.


Figure 7: My next ISS viewing opportunity.

Gotchas

• Currently requires WM 2003;
  
• Selecting a city for the Overpass mode is tedious;
  
• Need at least an occasional network connection for most features;
• The startup sound can't be turned off.

Where to Buy
@Sat Orbiter Locator+ by Survivorsoft can be purchased for $12.95 from Handango. [Affiliate]

Specifications
@Sat is available for Windows Mobile 2003 devices only. But, there are Smartphone 2003, and other devices that are planned shortly. It requires 2248K of free space.

Conclusions
@Sat is an excellent piece of software and a welcome addition to any Pocket PC. If you have space fever like I do, you'll want to get a copy of this. It's simple, easy to use, and has some great features.