Deep Space Internet
NASA successfully tests deep space Internet
With Vint Cerf, NASA develops communication protocol that uses spacecraft as routers
Sharon Gaudin
November 19, 2008 (Computerworld) With the help of Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has successfully tested its own deep space Internet.
Looking for a more efficient and cheaper way to communicate with spacecraft traveling throughout the solar system, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) created a new communications protocol that uses space probes and orbiters as deep space routers.
"This will allow for quicker, more efficient, less costly communications," said Leigh Torgerson, an operations center manager at the JPL. "If you have a rover on Mars and an orbiter circling Mars, you can relay information from Earth through the orbiter and to the rover. [It's] just like [the orbiter] is a router on the Internet."
Torgerson said that Cerf, who co-designed the TCP/IP Internet protocol, is a senior scientist on the team that developed the new protocol. The project has been under way for 10 years, Torgerson added.
Scientists have used the new software protocol, dubbed Disruption-Tolerant Networking, to send dozens of images to and from a NASA spacecraft more than 20 million miles from Earth over the past month.
Protocols basically are a language used to communicate between systems on the Internet. "This is the first step in creating a totally new space communications capability, an interplanetary Internet," said Adrian Hooke, team lead and manager of space-networking architecture, technology and standards at NASA.
Torgerson noted that the so-called interplanetary Internet has to be resilient enough to withstand disruptions or disconnections common in deep space communications. With the new communications design, each network node is designed to hold onto data packets, instead of discard them, until a destination path can be found.
"The incentive to use Internet-like protocols over space links was to take advantage of automated routing," Torgerson told Computerworld. "With standard space-link communications, the ground sends commands to spacecraft to tell it what time and what data to send. It's very hands-on-intensive. Automated routing ... saves a lot of labor and costs."
Right now, NASA noted that it has 10 network nodes in its Interplanetary Internet.
Torgerson said he foresees it being critical when NASA launches its manned missions to Mars and even when it sends astronauts back to the moon.
With Vint Cerf, NASA develops communication protocol that uses spacecraft as routers
Sharon Gaudin
November 19, 2008 (Computerworld) With the help of Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has successfully tested its own deep space Internet.
Looking for a more efficient and cheaper way to communicate with spacecraft traveling throughout the solar system, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) created a new communications protocol that uses space probes and orbiters as deep space routers.
"This will allow for quicker, more efficient, less costly communications," said Leigh Torgerson, an operations center manager at the JPL. "If you have a rover on Mars and an orbiter circling Mars, you can relay information from Earth through the orbiter and to the rover. [It's] just like [the orbiter] is a router on the Internet."
Torgerson said that Cerf, who co-designed the TCP/IP Internet protocol, is a senior scientist on the team that developed the new protocol. The project has been under way for 10 years, Torgerson added.
Scientists have used the new software protocol, dubbed Disruption-Tolerant Networking, to send dozens of images to and from a NASA spacecraft more than 20 million miles from Earth over the past month.
Protocols basically are a language used to communicate between systems on the Internet. "This is the first step in creating a totally new space communications capability, an interplanetary Internet," said Adrian Hooke, team lead and manager of space-networking architecture, technology and standards at NASA.
Torgerson noted that the so-called interplanetary Internet has to be resilient enough to withstand disruptions or disconnections common in deep space communications. With the new communications design, each network node is designed to hold onto data packets, instead of discard them, until a destination path can be found.
"The incentive to use Internet-like protocols over space links was to take advantage of automated routing," Torgerson told Computerworld. "With standard space-link communications, the ground sends commands to spacecraft to tell it what time and what data to send. It's very hands-on-intensive. Automated routing ... saves a lot of labor and costs."
Right now, NASA noted that it has 10 network nodes in its Interplanetary Internet.
Torgerson said he foresees it being critical when NASA launches its manned missions to Mars and even when it sends astronauts back to the moon.
Comments
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Kaminsky
Member Posts: 1,235
Little spotty hackers are now dreaming of hacking the Mars Rover I bet.Kam. -
LarryDaMan
Member Posts: 797
With the help of Internet pioneer Vint Cerf...
What?? I thought Al Gore invented the internet.
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tiersten
Member Posts: 4,505
They've used IP in space for many years now. It was limited to test projects before but they've evidently moved onto actual real usage of it. Cisco made/make the special routers used in the comms satellites.
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WanBoy67
Member Posts: 225
Knowing the IT industries luck, NASA will release a certification "Routing In Outer Space With Disruption-Tolerant Networking" and a few weeks later there'll be a **** for it. Half of India & China will be RIOSDTN qualified to route American space craft. World War III begins...Yes we can, yes we can... -
Sepiraph
Member Posts: 179 ■■□□□□□□□□
I still prefer the Internet over pigeon...
RFC 1149 - Standard for the transmission of IP datagrams on avian carriers -
msteinhilber
Member Posts: 1,480 ■■■■■■■■□□
This is going to give a whole new meaning to "black hole router". -
Kasor
Member Posts: 934 ■■■■□□□□□□
You know how much power you need to boost the signal up to the space!!! Without the Electronic company notice...Kill All Suffer T "o" ReBorn -
Ahriakin
Member Posts: 1,799 ■■■■■■■■□□
I believe they developed SCTP for this, it's already being used experimentally for the design of next gen (LTE) phone networks.We responded to the Year 2000 issue with "Y2K" solutions...isn't this the kind of thinking that got us into trouble in the first place? -
Pash
Member Posts: 1,600 ■■■■■□□□□□
Are we gonna need a new administritive distance of "light years" soon? :PDevOps Engineer and Security Champion. https://blog.pash.by - I am trying to find my writing style, so please bear with me. -
WanBoy67
Member Posts: 225
Forests - Security Boundaries
Domains - Administrative Boundaries
Space - The Final IT FrontierYes we can, yes we can... -
jibbajabba
Member Posts: 4,317 ■■■■■■■■□□
Cool, imagine that milage claim for an engineer callout
My own knowledge base made public: http://open902.com -
tiersten
Member Posts: 4,505
Mmm yeah... Sorry mate. I've gotta pop out to the space shuttle to get a spare. Can you let me back in when I ring?Cool, imagine that milage claim for an engineer callout
