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An Interplanetary Laser Communications System
caffiend666 writes "A news article at Yahoo states NASA is planning on testing the first laser-based interplanetary communications system on the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter to be launched in 2009. 'Unlike radio frequency signals that wash over the entire Earth, Fitzgerald and his colleagues will be shooting for a much smaller target - the southwestern corner of the United States.' Does this mean we will soon have telescopes outside of our homes soon to pick up high definition TV signals instead of our current 18 inch dishes?"
Earth - 'Hey' ...' ;)
Mars - 'Hey'
Earth -
Mars - '...'
Earth - 'a/s/l?'
-Teiresias
will this be implemented with sharks with frikin lasers on their heads?
"goodbye and hello, as always" ~Prince Corwin, from Zelazny's Amber series
Some serious lag in UT2004
If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people
I'd be happy if I could communicate with women. Why don't they work on that first?
The Internet is full. Go Away!!!
Suck on this, inverse-square law!
English is easier said than done.
Your seek time will be astronomical!
When you add lasers to anything, the net benefit is multiplied by %5555. Interstella 5555 is a prime example.
Ninjas also benefit from lasers ovbiously.
Yeah, but whatever you do, don't use an inverted tachyon beam! It would depolarize the cronoton particles, creating a feedback loop in the main deflector array that would inevitably lead to a plot complication.
DRM 'manages access' in the same way that a prison 'manages freedom'