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NASA Tests Deep-Space Network Modeled On the Internet

hcg50a writes "NASA has successfully tested the first deep space communications network modeled on the Internet. Working as part of a NASA-wide team, engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, used software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located about 20 million miles from Earth. The store-and-forward protocol was designed by NASA in consultation with Vint Cerf. Here's a discussion from last July before the test began."

109 comments

  1. Imagine... by pitchpipe · · Score: 3, Funny

    lolcats in space!

    --
    Look where all this talking got us, baby.
    1. Re:Imagine... by jd · · Score: 4, Funny

      Elebenty of tehm! Running Beowulfs!

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    2. Re:Imagine... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wonder what images they actually sent...the press release doesn't mention anything about them.

    3. Re:Imagine... by RockWolf · · Score: 2, Funny

      I wonder what images they actually sent...the press release doesn't mention anything about them.

      Porn, obviously.

      --
      February 9th, 2009 8:55pm: Slashdot becomes self-aware.
    4. Re:Imagine... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Laser Cats!

    5. Re:Imagine... by EpsCylonB · · Score: 1
  2. their first message by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    5th post

  3. DRM by frisket · · Score: 2, Funny

    Would sub-space internet radio broadcasts be subject to a DRM?

    1. Re:DRM by sexconker · · Score: 2, Funny

      I've just copyrighted the term subcasting.

    2. Re:DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A word is not copyrightable.

    3. Re:DRM by floop · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's called trademark, not copyright and someone already did it: http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=jemidk.2.1

    4. Re:DRM by Directrix1 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, but while you guys were talking about that, I trademarked Subcasting (TM).

      --
      Occam's razor is the blind faith in the natural selection of least resistance and in universal oversimplification. -- EF
    5. Re:DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A word cannot be copyrighted.

    6. Re:DRM by sexconker · · Score: 1

      (Which is why I got the copyright. I didn't say it made any sense, but luckily they didn't seem to mind.)

    7. Re:DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "This search session has expired. Please start a search session again by clicking on the TRADEMARK icon, if you wish to continue."

  4. Store anf forward.. could it be... by strangeattraction · · Score: 2, Interesting

    email re-inventerd?

    1. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Are you being sarcastic or just stupid?

      I am going to assume the later. Whereas imagine e-mail being a train car, and TCP/IP (i.e. internet) being the railroad tracks. The tracks will use switches and routers to set the fastest path for you. E-mail does store and forward, however it does it point-to-point (origin to destination).

      So you load up the train car with apples for grandma, and send it towards grandma. The car will tell the switch operators where you want to go and they will make all of the required path changes. Than if you get there, you are suppose to call your wife and let her know if grandma got the apples. If grandma isn't there, you don't call, the TTL expires, and you die.

      With space you have no internet (i.e. road) and TTLs are too high to use the same technology we use here. So if you have no road to drive on you cannot get to grandma.

      So with your statement, you would load up your apples into a train car sitting on the side of a field, while grandma dies from hunger. If only ...

    2. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Alwin+Henseler · · Score: 4, Informative

      With space you have no internet (i.e. road) and TTLs are too high to use the same technology we use here.

      You might think so, but it *has* been shown to work. I mean, don't tell me you never heard of the pigeon protocol?

    3. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought it was a series of tubes?

    4. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Hucko · · Score: 1

      Pigeons in space... I need to say no more.

      --
      Semi-automatic amateur armchair Australian philosopher; conjecture ready at any moment...
    5. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by corsec67 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Pigeons in space... I need to say no more.

      Well, if you throw them in the right direction with the right velocity...

      Assuming you don't have to enter or exit any atmospheres, it could work. The catching site would be messy, and would give Mike Rowe an excuse to go into space.

      It would just be a "dead pigeon" protocol.

      --
      If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
    6. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      WOW. Normally people would ignore such a badley speled poast. But not you! You've gone and called the person stupid.

      While your post is well informed and shows a knowledge of the technology being discussed in the article, your response is one of the most reactionary and pissed-off I can remember.

      Damn man, some people don't know as much as you. OH NOES! Have a beer and chill out, for chrissakes.

      There are idiots, and there are people who simply don't know. You can't tell which group the parent belongs to. Unfortunately for you, you've just pegged yourself as an asshole. CONGRATS.

      Plus, you've just managed to tell everyone that you want your grandmother dead.

      I'm going to save your post as another example of posts I've been collecting called "douchebags on the internet."

      So, in a way, YOU WIN!

    7. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Whiteox · · Score: 1

      Whereas imagine e-mail being a train car, and TCP/IP (i.e. internet) being the railroad tracks.
      That's confusing. Can you rewrite that as a car analogy?

      --
      Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
    8. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently you could use water bears if the pigeons don't work out.

    9. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by AmberBlackCat · · Score: 1

      I have just patented a method of transferring data between planets, wherein a party at location A launches a carrier pigeon with a message attached, and a party at location B has a giant baseball mitt to catch the pigeon.

      And if that doesn't work out, I am copyrighting my list of ingredients for my Finger-Licking Fried Pigeon recipe...

    10. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by corsec67 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Hmm, you could combine both of those.

      Coat the (live, perhaps) pigeon with butter, and then throw it hard enough that it gets fried in flight, assuming you are in an atmosphere. You might need to add a bit of aluminum foil to even out the heating.

      Data and a meal.

      --
      If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
    11. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by theJML · · Score: 1

      Nah, Swallows would be better. They can hold larger packets. Up to a certian size, they can just grip it by the husk, after that, it just takes two of 'em with the packet on a line.

      --
      -=JML=-
    12. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Assuming you don't have to enter or exit any atmospheres, it could work. The catching site would be messy, and would give Mike Rowe an excuse to go into space.

      It would just be a "dead pigeon" protocol.

      Any way we could change this to the "interstellar monkey excrement" protocol?

      Monkeys test way better in the 9-50 set. :-P

      Just imagine, monkeys flinging interstellar poo-communiques throughout the universe. Damn the spice, give me monkeys! ;-)

      Cheers

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    13. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not dead.. its just resting.

    14. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm going to save your post as another example of posts I've been collecting called "douchebags on the internet."

      You're upset that he called somebody stupid. So you've gone and called him an asshole and a douchebag, and said that he wants his grandmother dead. I think you might be able to add your own post to your collection.

    15. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Finger-Licking Fried Pigeon recipe

      I'm sure you could add Deep Space in there somewhere, and instantly improve sales 3-fold.

    16. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by Kz · · Score: 2, Informative

      why do you assume e-mail means TCP/IP?

      i guess you don't remember UUCP? yep, that was a store-and-forward protocol, which evolved into a 'network of networks' working to get e-mail and netnews before the Internet.

      --
      -Kz-
    17. Re:Store anf forward.. could it be... by markana · · Score: 2, Funny

      African, European, or Alien swallows?

      (assuming that the airspeed velocity is irrelevant here...)

  5. Designed to survive galactic warfare... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...and route around event horizons.

  6. very exciting by qw0ntum · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is very exciting, not only because of its utility in space, but because of its utility on Earth as well. Particularly in areas with unreliable internet service, delay-tolerant protocols can be extremely helpful for allowing basic connectivity to the outside world. Consider the choice is having no internet communications at all versus waiting a day or two for your email to travel out of your village, onto the passing truck that is caching data, and into the city where it can proceed through a reliable internet connection. DTN is powerful stuff.

    It really kills me when people dismiss developments in space programs as being too far removed (no pun intended) from the rest of us to be relevant.

    --
    'Every story, if continued long enough, ends in death.' --Ernest Hemingway
    1. Re:very exciting by jd · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It would be nice if there were packet drivers for the protocol for Linux, NetBSD and NS-3 (the current network simulator). This would allow people to get a good feel for the behaviour of the new protocol, which may have uses beyond deep space. (It is possible to imagine real-world networks on Planet Earth where the characteristics of the network compare with inter-satellite communications.) Besides, would you rather Europe's answer to GPS use Windows?

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    2. Re:very exciting by Star+Particle · · Score: 3, Funny

      I agree, this is very exciting news in terms of internet devel- *error: connection dropped*

    3. Re:very exciting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup. the D in dtn stands for delay or disruption. There are groups working towards remote location connectivity (think nomadic herders). There are also military applications- it's pretty tacky, but having nodes on the network blow up is another way of saying it will be disrupted for an undetermined time...

    4. Re:very exciting by amirulbahr · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Disruption Tolerant Network protocols certainly have a place in ad-hoc wireless networks where bit-error rates are high and link outages are common.

      One of the drawbacks of a DTN is the fact that intermediate nodes require greater complexity and memory for the store-and-forward.

    5. Re:very exciting by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't worry, everybody.
      The rest of the post will come within the hour. Or maybe next week.

    6. Re:very exciting by flappinbooger · · Score: 1

      I think the post office has beat you to it, man.

      Read your post again, and instead of EMAIL, think A LETTER IN AN ENVELOPE.

      Or, were you actually being so awesomely sarcastic that I've missed it as well?

      --
      Flappinbooger isn't my real name
    7. Re:very exciting by Whiteox · · Score: 1

      The rest of the post will come within the hour. Or maybe next week.
      My thoughts exactly. I can imagine that by 'next week' the spam would be out of date and the links already dead.

      --
      Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
    8. Re:very exciting by jd · · Score: 1

      True, but wouldn't that be just as true for any wireless mesh that tries to handle reliable connections over paths that can change pseudo-randomly on-the-fly? DTN is presumably no more expensive on the compute cycles or memory than any of the 200+ methods on Citeseer for doing the same job specifically for terrestrial wireless, but is presumably much more versatile as it was designed to handle far worse situations.

      Talking of noisy links, are there any open source implementations of Turbo Codes? (This is an error-correction scheme that is supposed to be designed specifically for errors that are not scattered randomly but concentrated into chunks. Reed-Solomon is better for scattered bit errors, provided the density is low enough. I can find open source Reed-Solomon implementations, but I haven't seen any for Turbo Codes.)

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    9. Re:very exciting by teridon · · Score: 1

      Is this not what you want?
      http://www.opencores.org/projects.cgi/web/turbocodes/overview

      project looks dead, though.

      --
      I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing. -- Thomas Jefferson
    10. Re:very exciting by powerlord · · Score: 1

      The rest of the post will come within the hour. Or maybe next week.

      My thoughts exactly. I can imagine that by 'next week' the spam would be out of date and the links already dead.

      So thats another added bonus of the protocol, right?

      --
      This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
    11. Re:very exciting by jd · · Score: 1

      Yes, that's the stuff, but - yuk - it looks very incomplete. It's unclear as to what's there and what isn't, VHDL isn't an easy format to work in, and it'd take a while for even those who know what they're doing to get that into any reasonable shape. I don't even come close to that level of expertise in signals theory.

      I've bookmarked it and will start hacking on the code this weekend.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  7. Yay! by owlnation · · Score: 2, Funny

    Space Porn!!!

  8. Remember FIDONet by Cyberax · · Score: 4, Informative

    We already have a working _global_ _worldwide_ _free_ network based on store-and-forward protocols.

    It's called FIDONet. It's almost dead now, but it was very alive during early 90-s before the advent of cheap Internet.

    Kids...

    1. Re:Remember FIDONet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You beat me to mentioning this. :-)

      I don't think that streaming Internet protocols are going to be all that useful when dealing with a very large (or even moderate) time-delay due to distance. However the VERY reliable FIDOnet protocol(s) would probably work quite well.

      RSD

    2. Re:Remember FIDONet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      We already have a working _global_ _worldwide_ _free_ network based on store-and-forward protocols.

      It's called FIDONet. It's almost dead now, but it was very alive during early 90-s before the advent of cheap Internet.

      Kids...

      We shall, respectfully, remove ourselves from your lawn.

    3. Re:Remember FIDONet by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      I was about to say the same thing - FIDONet, RIME, etc... etc... Store-and-forward message networks are old hat. NASA is just late to the 'everything must be web-enabled' party.

    4. Re:Remember FIDONet by Jimbookis · · Score: 2, Funny

      We already have a working _global_ _worldwide_ _free_ network based on store-and-forward protocols.

      It's called FIDONet. It's almost dead now, but it was very alive during early 90-s before the advent of cheap Internet.

      Kids...

      The best thing is if NASA used FIDONet think of the money they'd save by only sending messages to Deep Space at 3am when the tolls are cheapest!

    5. Re:Remember FIDONet by John+Hasler · · Score: 2, Informative

      UUCPNet, Pathalias, and the UUCP Mapping Project.

      Kids, indeed.
      --
      ihnp4!stolaff!bungia!foundln!john

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    6. Re:Remember FIDONet by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 1

      Curse you!
      I am already behind on my mandatory /. reading... and now you send me on a very interesting Wikipedia click trail.
      20+ option on the poll tonight.

    7. Re:Remember FIDONet by Cyberax · · Score: 2, Funny

      Same problem :)

      I'm seriously thinking about FireFox extension which will stop opening new Wikipedia links after 20-30 minutes of reading Wikipedia pages.

    8. Re:Remember FIDONet by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 1

      Sounds like IBM's MQ Anywhere combined with a router and DNS.

      --
      Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
    9. Re:Remember FIDONet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is FIDONet an actual networking protocol? I thought it was very high-level messaging system, akin to email or usenet. This new NASA protocol is more like the TCP/IP level.

    10. Re:Remember FIDONet by awrz · · Score: 1

      It's called FIDONet. It's almost dead now

      Kids...

      It's not dead at all. I had no idea FIDONet nodes were so rampant with russian wives!

      Fidonet.org --> Active Nodes = http://www.ftngate.net/fidonet/

      --
      "--wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy." --Benjamin Franklin
    11. Re:Remember FIDONet by Cyberax · · Score: 1

      Yes, FIDONet is the name of the network (like Internet).

      There are standard protocols in FIDO, like in Internet. They are specified by FidoNet Technical Standards Committee documents (http://ftsc.org/docs/) . All FIDONet nodes must implement a minimal subset of specifications to receive direct netmail.

      In practice, FIDO worked over any media capable of file transfer. I received my echomail with a custom 2400-bps modem from radio _broadcasts_.

      Good times...

    12. Re:Remember FIDONet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm still listed as a FIDONet node and i went down YEARS ago.

      Little man, I'm sure this is a little more complex than your average UUCP network.

      Now get off my front lawn before i shoot.

    13. Re:Remember FIDONet by AmberBlackCat · · Score: 2, Funny

      If you ever get those kids off your lawn, I may be willing to pay big dollars for the right to put a giant baseball mitt there.

    14. Re:Remember FIDONet by Kleen13 · · Score: 1

      That's right, they just take their time to implement technology. http://www.cpushack.net/space-craft-cpu.html

      --
      That sinking feeling deep in your gut when you KNOW you screwed up bad summed up with: {head desk} {head desk}
    15. Re:Remember FIDONet by Muad'Dave · · Score: 1

      Sniff, sniff. I officially feel old.

      #N    gnd0
      #S    Concurrent Computer Series 7350A, Running MicroXelos System V
      #O    Home of Mass Destruction and Woe (Ground Zero).
      #C    David Tiller, n2kau
      #E    gnd0!davet
      #T    +1 201 222 6753
      #P    35 Sternberger Ave. Apt. H, West End, NJ 07740
      #L    40 16 52 n / 73 59 00 w
      #R    Home of RF, Lasers, Computers, Dave-TV, suffering, pain and woe.
      #U    tsdiag
      #W    tsdiag!davet (David Tiller, n2kau) ; Mon Apr 22 16:00:00 GMT 1991
      #
      gnd0    tsdiag(DAILY), ka2qhd(DAILY)

      --
      Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
  9. Previous method... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The previous technique of interplanetary messenger pigeons was obviously lobbied against by PETA as a disgusting abuse of animals.

  10. Finally by sleeponthemic · · Score: 1, Funny

    I can market my CHEEP VAIGRA and ATHENTIC ROLLEX WATCH to the Vogons.

    Revenge will be mine!

    --
    I record my sleeptalking
    1. Re:Finally by peragrin · · Score: 1

      until they market their poetry sessions with free samples in every email.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    2. Re:Finally by sleeponthemic · · Score: 1

      Sir, I will respond with a salvo of special offers from nigeria.

      --
      I record my sleeptalking
    3. Re:Finally by Whiteox · · Score: 1

      Who knows? They may be interested in a Russian wife.

      --
      Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
  11. bollocks by mofag · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Deep space my arse! Its just space. We've not even stepped out of our own little planet-moon system yet and we think we want to start using up space-faring superlatives. Morons! Soon the term deep-space will be about as meaningful as artificial intelligence (assuming deep-space was ever a meaningful term in the first place). If this system is for "deep-space" then what will we call a communication protocol that works well between stars?

    Anyone in marketing, kill yourself! - Bill Hicks

    1. Re:bollocks by Spikeles · · Score: 4, Funny

      then what will we call a communication protocol that works well between stars

      Interstellar?

      --
      I don't need to test my programs.. I have an error correcting modem.
    2. Re:bollocks by plover · · Score: 3, Funny

      I think Microsoft may have been considering the scope of this problem for a long time. They stopped the hubristic practice of naming "guaranteed unique" identifiers as UUIDs (Universally Unique IDentifiers) and started referring to them as GUIDs (Globally Unique IDentifiers.)

      Why would they change horses in the middle of the race, with all the expense of changing documentation, supporting two naming systems, and all of the resultant confusion, unless there was a reason to not refer to them as "Universal"?

      OK, maybe it's because they were trying to "embrace, extend, and extinguish" the RFC defining UUIDs. But I'd prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt, and say that they were "forward thinking", looking at the problems of networking in space.

      BWA HA HA HA! Sorry, I couldn't keep a straight face for that last bit.

      --
      John
    3. Re:bollocks by Dr_Banzai · · Score: 1

      Deep Space refers to anything outside of Earth orbit. The EPOXI probe (previously called Deep Impact) is orbiting the Sun, not the Earth, so is definitely in deep space.

      The distinction is useful because most earth-orbiting satellites can be communicated with using relatively small antennas, whereas deep space probes are orders of magnitude farther away and require a network of much larger dishes (ie, the Deep Space Network).

  12. They should've chosen a more secure model by Mistshadow2k4 · · Score: 0

    Aliens will be hacking it left and right.

    --
    I dream of a better world... one in which chickens can cross roads without their motives being questioned.
  13. It's time to hack the ISS by interstellar_donkey · · Score: 1

    So all the displays on the space station have in large print this message displayed:

    ALL OF THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA. ATTEMPT NO LANDINGS THERE.

    That would be fun.

    --
    The Internet is generally stupid
  14. This is advanced technology. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So in the future, when you download pr0n, it won't be coming from China, it'll be coming from Uranus. What a worthwhile use of such advanced technology.

    1. Re:This is advanced technology. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hmmm. Is that not goatse?

  15. Searching Doom 3 servers... by Alwin+Henseler · · Score: 5, Funny

    CLANWARS_PUBLIC#1 LAVAPIT-BIG UDP 56
    LOL-GIBBERISHED OH!NOSHIT_ctf UDP 68
    PLAYTIME.DOT.UK DM_HOLYGROUNDS UDP 254
    FRAGFEST_REDPLANET DM_HELLHOLE UDP 2,139,442

    Ping of 2 MILLION? WTF ?!?

    1. Re:Searching Doom 3 servers... by Earthpaladin · · Score: 1

      What I was thinking would be really interesting, is seeing different perspectives of the same thing. For example, seeing an asteriod hit mars from a rover's perspective, a satellite perspective, and from near earth perspective. I also think this will make it easier to track earth bound asteriods.

    2. Re:Searching Doom 3 servers... by laejoh · · Score: 1

      In space no one can hear you ping!

    3. Re:Searching Doom 3 servers... by FrozenFOXX · · Score: 1

      Sounds like the setting of Hell for Doom 3 has now been fully realized.

      --
      "Just a fox, a whisper."
  16. Too Late... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Al Gore invented this already.

  17. Ping ? by smoker2 · · Score: 1

    $ ping mars
    PING mars (77.65.82.83) 56(84) bytes of data.

    --- mars ping statistics ---
    130 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 129084ms

    Oh noes !
    We slashdotted Mars !

    1. Re:Ping ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm just happy that Mars resolves on DNS. Does Mars have a static or dynamic IP?

  18. Anonymous Coward by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Vint Cerf wears a T-shirt: "IP Everywhere"

  19. Beat me to it. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 3, Interesting

    UUCPNet, Pathalias, and the UUCP Mapping Project.

    Kids, indeed.

    I still have several names registered with the UUCP Mapping Project as of their shutdown (freezing the namespace).

    Some of them still exchange mail via UUCP, too. Both with each other and the rest of the net. B-)

    (In fact one of those rest-of-the-net links was down for a while and came back up right after McColo was cut off. B-> )

    = = = =

    Running mailing lists with a periodic UUCP link in the path has an additional side-effect: It limits the traffic explosion from mail loops that are not detected to a manageable volume, giving the admin time to shut down the offending address.

    = = = =

    I understand that UUCP mailnet is ALREADY in use in Africa in a very interesting form:

      - Villages have a WiFi-enabled machine to exchange mails and files with the outside world.
      - The local mail carrier has a bicycle with a WiFi-enabled, battery-powered machine with a decently large disk.
      - As he cycles from village to village the bike-mounted machine associates with the local machine and UUCP does its usual magic, transferring mail, files, and download requests. (Don't know if they also run netnews groups on it...
      - One of the machines on his route has internet connectivity and transfers the mail, files, and download requests to the rest of the world.

    All with legacy protocols doing what they always did. And he doesn't even have to stop pedaling. B-)

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
    1. Re:Beat me to it. by Molochi · · Score: 1

      What RFC# is that? Please tell me SOMEONE wrote it up.

      --
      "The Adobe Updater must update itself before it can check for updates. Would you like to update the Adobe Updater now?"
    2. Re:Beat me to it. by Luyseyal · · Score: 1

      I understand that UUCP mailnet is ALREADY in use in Africa in a very interesting form: - Villages have a WiFi-enabled machine to exchange mails and files with the outside world. - The local mail carrier has a bicycle with a WiFi-enabled, battery-powered machine with a decently large disk. - As he cycles from village to village the bike-mounted machine associates with the local machine and UUCP does its usual magic, transferring mail, files, and download requests. (Don't know if they also run netnews groups on it... - One of the machines on his route has internet connectivity and transfers the mail, files, and download requests to the rest of the world. All with legacy protocols doing what they always did. And he doesn't even have to stop pedaling. B-)

      [Citation needed]
      -l

      --
      Help cure AIDS, cancer, and more. Donate your unused computer time to worldcommunitygrid.org. Join Team Slashdot!
    3. Re:Beat me to it. by powerlord · · Score: 1

      Well, according to the "Font of all (quick) wisdom", the "official" name for this is IntetPlaNet which is backed in part by the (wait for it) InterPlanetary Internet SIG (that's Special Interest Group to you youngins).

      They seem to have a whole bunch of papers on their website which might be easier to digest than an RFC, but the easiest way to find the RFC is to just google for "RFC DTN".

      Delay-Tolerant Networking Architecture

      Sadly it just defines the DTN architecture and is much less enjoyable than rfc2549 (IP over Avian Carriers with Quality of Service).

      --
      This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
    4. Re:Beat me to it. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

      I understand that UUCP mailnet is ALREADY in use in Africa in a very interesting form: - Villages have a WiFi-enabled machine to exchange mails and files with the outside world.

      [Citation needed]

      Sorry. Heard about it at a conference a couple years ago by one of the participants.

      I can try to hunt them up but no promises.

      --
      Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
    5. Re:Beat me to it. by qw0ntum · · Score: 1

      (G^n)P here, that's really cool stuff. The project is called Wizzy Digital Courier:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizzy_Digital_Courier

      --
      'Every story, if continued long enough, ends in death.' --Ernest Hemingway
    6. Re:Beat me to it. by qw0ntum · · Score: 1

      Sorry another similar project as well I forgot about: http://www.firstmilesolutions.com/

      --
      'Every story, if continued long enough, ends in death.' --Ernest Hemingway
  20. Security? Authentication? Privacy? Anonymity? by White+Flame · · Score: 1

    I see no mention of these measures, and am not amused by this ridiculous lack of foresight if in fact they are omitted. These need to be present from the start, not attempted to tack on later.

    It would be much easier for anybody to spy on backbone communications in this giant wireless system than what we currently have with wired backbones.

  21. UUCP over IP by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    From /etc/services:

    uucp-path 117/tcp # UUCP Path Service
    uucp-path 117/udp
    uucp 540/tcp uucpd # uucp daemon
    uucp 540/udp uucpd

    Still works if you've got UUCP neighbors configured.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  22. First test by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    $ ping6 SPACECRAFT.TEST.JPL
    Request timed out.
    Request timed out.
    Request timed out.
    Request timed out.

  23. finally, bittorrent porn on the moon! by Charlie+Flowers · · Score: 1

    finally, bittorrent porn on the moon! the coverage has always sucked out there.

    1. Re:finally, bittorrent porn on the moon! by elthicko · · Score: 1

      You stole my thoughts, but now it occurs to me that unfortunately my hand wont go through my space-suit :(

  24. Secret Identity? by ClosedSource · · Score: 1

    Ever notice that you never see Al Gore and Vint Cerf in the same place.

  25. I thought it was already working like this by wtarreau · · Score: 1

    The need for store-and-forward seems obvious to me due to the high latencies, and I thought it had always been working like this. Maybe it's hard to evolve in that area due to the long time needed to prepare each project and the risk of failure.

  26. ax.25 is new again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually it is already implemented in Linux for the ax.25 network stack:
    http://theronans.com/j0n/?p=260

  27. Delay? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I could have sword I had read about DTN as DELAY Tolerant Networking. Was that a nomenclature change, or am I just making things up?

  28. So where's the deep space protocol RFC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OK, maybe it's because they were trying to "embrace, extend, and extinguish" the RFC defining UUIDs

    I was waiting for someone to ask where we can find the RFC covering the new space protocol, but your comment above is the only one that even mentions the term.

    So where is it? You can't have a protocol without an RFC, especially from a founding father of the Internet!

  29. Re:Security? Authentication? Privacy? Anonymity? by PeterBrett · · Score: 1

    I see no mention of these measures, and am not amused by this ridiculous lack of foresight if in fact they are omitted. These need to be present from the start, not attempted to tack on later.

    They are not omitted. RFC5050 discusses the authentication and security requirements in addition to the bundle protocol specification. However, note that it would be inefficient to implement authentication and security on every node -- it's sufficient to implement them on the boundaries of a controlled network.

    Since this is designed for use over very expensive, highly controlled links (e.g. the Deep Space Network), anonymity/privacy wasn't really a high priority. However, the protocol doesn't preclude sending encrypted bundles, and AFAICT provides all the necessary infrastructure foranonymous transmission, although making that play nicely with authentication/security might be tricky.

    Although I'm not a member of the IETF DTNRG, I am doing a Masters project involving DTN over ad-hoc wireless robotic networks for distributed behaviour applications.

  30. "Deep Space Telemetry" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is just them "telling" us that they have a Stargate, and have been using it for 10 years prior to this statement.

    I wonder how their Sam looks...

  31. NASA consulted Vint Cerf? by rnturn · · Score: 1

    And the result looks like the Internet? Is this a huge surprise?

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    CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
  32. Here's some cites by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    ... As he cycles from village to village the bike-mounted machine associates with the local machine and UUCP does its usual magic, transferring mail, files, and download requests. ...

    [Citation needed]

    A simple google search for "uucp bicycle motorcycle wifi" brought up a number of such things.

    One was the "motoman" project, which is essentially what I described but with mororcycles in Cambodia.

    Here's a page in the OLPC project Wiki the motoman page on the OLPC project Wiki, which gives this and several other links to info on it.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  33. On the use of Excrement Packet Protocol ... by some+guy+I+know · · Score: 1

    Any way we could change this to the "interstellar monkey excrement" protocol? [...] monkeys flinging interstellar poo-communiques throughout the universe.

    One word: Fecenet. (Excrenet? Internet Number 2(.0)?)

    --
    Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana