WASHINGTON (AP) — A rocket streaked along the eastern U.S. early evening sky Tuesday in an unusual sight as NASA put a smartphone and 28 other tiny satellites into orbit.
NASA and the Air Force launched the private Minotaur rocket from Wallops Island, Va., in a test flight. The NASA launch pad is getting more use, giving more Americans a view of soaring spacecraft that used to be limited to Florida and California.
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Experts estimated that the launch would be seen from Savannah, Ga., to Montreal to central Ohio.
One of the satellites is controlled by the guts of an off-the-shelf smartphone as NASA experiments with small, cheap, orbiting science projects.
The rocket, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, also carries a satellite built by Virginia high school students.