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JULY 14, 2009 11:29AM
Rate: 12
interplanetary DTN blogging station (NASA)
Tommy, can you hear me? My iPhone sucks. (NASA)
hello Ms. Saturn? can you hear me now?
Space, the final DTN frontier for bloggers
Summering on a private planetoid in our solar system? Fortunately, you can still keep up with Facebook and blogging, unlike poor old Major Tom.
Thankfully, it wasn't Comcast or AT&T, but NASA who hooked up the first interspacenet connection. Called Interplanetary Internet, it was set up for bloggers who wish to post from Saturn and Mars without waiting for asteroid dial-up signals to drift by.
A little different than our earthly Al Gore Internet, or Worldwide Web, the Outer Space deal uses a protocol called DTN, delay tolerant networking. Allegedly, DTN was tested in the last election to aid John McCain's interplanetary communications with his
DTN is slightly different than our earthly internet protocol, TCP/IP. Translated, TCP/IP means two really buffed computers connected by a really long pretend wire, grooving together so that there are no interruptions with data transfer. The TCP/IP ego inflated buffer does not retain the information for even a minute and assumes it will get to the receiver. We all know how well that works on occasion. Hiccup.
In space, this new DTN gizmo assumes there will be interruptions like asteroids whizzing by, or
The DTN system just hangs on to all the bundled data in a buffer until it all gets sent somewhere safely, and then somewhere else again, until it reaches its destination. Similar to sensible shoes. And frankly, galactic pony express.
Just like earthlings rejoice when domestic airlines offer wi-fi for rabid iPhone/notebook users, DTN is making our space shuttle voyagers very happy. Think of the perks Branson can offer in his upcoming Virgin Galactic flights! Perhaps by then the 3G email and messaging network will link to the DTN nodes. Apple?
NASA says another DTN node will be shooting up into the galactic world later this year. With debugging (not dead bugs in space) and software tinkering, they expect it to be fully active in 2011.
Now the shuttle can really phone home. And we are not talking about earth.
Comments
I really would like to get my hands on that SPF 3000 before I go on vacation ... if anyone would know ~ it would be you! love it!
Wait. Are you saying that if I were on mars I could surf faster? I told my husband Louisiana was a bad choice!
SPF 3000, coming soon to an asteroid box store near you! Thanks, Ann.
Jess - Probably faster than LA, but slower too because it travels like a galactic pony express. But it gets there, unlike stuff we send sometimes. Seriously, though - I would only leave if your Bank came with you. :)
Jess - Probably faster than LA, but slower too because it travels like a galactic pony express. But it gets there, unlike stuff we send sometimes. Seriously, though - I would only leave if your Bank came with you. :)
It makes for a nice weapons platform too.
so does this mean Jupiter gets my humor?
@Mr. Mustard: No, it doesn't.
"... a long pretend wire..." That had me laughing. Sound interesting, just wishing it would be wi-fi for my iTouch. One day...
i saw them putting this together. there were some things a guy named gene at stanford misread in the original blueprints because of his cataracts but they're working on getting it corrected and the DTN node ought to be really popping in time for christmas 2010.
book it.
book it.
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