Pentagon Puts Internet Router in Space
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The Department of Defense’s IRIS project will put an internet router in space by the start of 2009, allowing voice, video and data communications for US troops using standards developed for the internet, reported by BBC News.
IRIS (Internet Router Protocol in Space) is to the future of satellite-based communications what Arpanet was to the creation of the internet in the 1960s,” said Don Brown, of Intelsat General, one of the companies who will build the platform.
When it launches in 2009, it will allow troops to communicate over the net from remote regions.
After initial testing the satellite will be opened up for commercial use. It could also signal the beginning of the development of the internet in space. Currently most satellites have to communicate with one another through ground stations or via radio signals to a relay satellite.
Deploying routers on satellites would allow them to communicate directly with one another using common internet standards, known as internet protocol (IP).
It also raises the possibility of routinely transferring data through the satellite network, rather than ground based cables.
Cisco and US space agency Nasa put one of the first routers in space onboard the UK-DMC satellite, part of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) used for observing the Earth for major disasters.
The DMC router uses the latest IP networking standards to send critical images to ground stations for use by rescue workers.
With IP becoming more prevalent for use in space, Nasa and internet pioneer Vint Cerf have also investigated the possibility of using internet technology across the solar system.
No definite schedule has been announced for an interplanetary internet.
Tags:data communications Department of Defense Disaster Monitoring Constellation DMC router internet in space Internet Router Protocol in Space internet pioneer internet protocol internet router internet technology interplanetary internet IRIS iris internet projecy iris project Nasa routers satelites satellites satellite network science solar system space
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