How Everyday Technology Is Used In Spaceflight
•February 8, 2026
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Why It Matters
Adopting consumer electronics in space cuts costs and boosts crew productivity, accelerating the transition to routine, commercialized spaceflight.
Key Takeaways
- •NASA will equip ISS crews with latest smartphones starting Artemis 2.
- •Consumer devices often retrofitted, not space‑rated, to meet mission needs.
- •iPads now serve as digital checklists, experiment tools, and entertainment.
- •Early space photography evolved from modified Hasselblads to modern Nikon Z9s.
- •Standard kitchen timers remain surprisingly common on shuttle and ISS.
Summary
The video examines how everyday consumer electronics have become integral to spaceflight, highlighted by NASA’s recent announcement that upcoming ISS crews on Crew‑12 and Artemis 2 will carry the latest smartphones. Scott Manley traces this trend from early improvisations—John Glenn’s vacation‑bought Ansco camera—to today’s iPhone‑enabled missions, showing how off‑the‑shelf gadgets are adapted for the harsh orbital environment. Key insights include a chronological tour of devices: Hasselblad and Nikon cameras for lunar imaging, Sony Walkmans and Disc‑mans for audio, iPods retrofitted with space‑rated AA‑battery packs, and the evolution from Apple II computers to ThinkPads and modern iPad Minis serving as mission‑critical tablets. Each item required modifications—removing volatile components, adding custom connectors, or qualifying batteries—to meet NASA’s safety standards. Manley peppers the narrative with vivid anecdotes: the Apollo crew’s Hasselblad modifications, the first email sent from space via a Mac Portable, Luca Parmitano’s live DJ set from an iPad, and the ubiquitous kitchen timer repurposed for procedural checks on the shuttle and ISS. These examples illustrate both the ingenuity of astronauts and the practical benefits of consumer tech in zero‑gravity. The broader implication is clear: leveraging mass‑produced electronics lowers development costs, accelerates innovation, and democratizes access to space. As agencies and commercial partners continue to certify consumer devices, future missions will rely increasingly on familiar, versatile tools, blurring the line between everyday life and extraterrestrial work environments.
Original Description
NASA are finally allowing modern smartphones in space after private spaceflight has been using them for five years. But NASA has a long history of using everyday consumer electronics in spaceflight, so I thought I'd pull together a few examples of things I've seen in historic photos from space.
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