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NASA Taking Ethernet Into Deeper Space

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the once-i-took-it-into-my-bathroom dept.

coondoggie writes "While Ethernet technology has gone places no one would have envisioned 36 years ago, NASA today signed an agreement with a German Ethernet vendor to build highly fault-tolerant networks for space-based applications. TTTech builds a set of time-triggered services called TTEthernet that is implemented on top of standard IEEE802.3 Ethernet. Its technology is designed to enable design of synchronous, highly dependable embedded computing and networking, capable of tolerating multiple faults, the company said."

20 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Too much Cat-5 by gnick · · Score: 4, Funny

    At those distances, I'd have gone wireless. Wait to string ethernet to the space station until we're done with the space elevator.

    --
    He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    1. Re:Too much Cat-5 by InsertWittyNameHere · · Score: 3, Funny

      Dont be so short sighted. We should run Cat6, if not fiber.

    2. Re:Too much Cat-5 by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 3, Funny

      Agreed. I also hope they have it in conduits or something. Otherwise, somebody is will trip over it and pull the space station out of orbit.

    3. Re:Too much Cat-5 by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 3, Funny

      At those distances, I'd have gone wireless. Wait to string ethernet to the space station until we're done with the space elevator.

      I can't wait to see the looks on their faces at the ISS when the backhoe shows up.

      --
      No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  2. Didn't they watch BS:G? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Networking on board spaceships is bad. The Cylons can tap into them.

    1. Re:Didn't they watch BS:G? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'd love to shove a... ehem... "fiber"... into another kind of "wrist" on that cute asian one, and immobilize it with multiple orgasms. ^^

      Imagine the whole fleet, including the base-stars and hunters having constant orgasms. Would be a funny sight... Until they "cum" with all their nukes at once.

  3. Someone had to do it... by nwf · · Score: 4, Funny

    Would that be Aethernet?

    More here

    --
    I don't know, but it works for me.
  4. WRWAN by erroneus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It might be an interesting project indeed to send out a bunch of peers out into the solar system to relay sensor and communications data. A WRWAN (Wireless Really Wide Area Network) might be the kind of utility that could facilitate more reliable data flow for future exploration projects.

  5. Very fragile network by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    If you take down the sun, the entire network would fall apart in 8 minutes flat.

  6. I'd have taken it all the way to subspace by popo · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...but for those who go through life at impulse power, I suppose this will do.

    --
    ------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
  7. Just what we need... by Kayden · · Score: 2, Funny

    Space memes...

    1. Re:Just what we need... by Nerdfest · · Score: 3, Funny

      You won't be able to get YouTube audio over it. In space, no-one can hear you stream.

  8. Silly NASA, you only get 100m per segment by Dan667 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Only 2000m total. Would be an interesting launch to watch though when the cable runs out.

  9. Only one thing to say: by ptomblin · · Score: 4, Funny

    LAAAAG!

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    The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
    1. Re:Only one thing to say: by JustOK · · Score: 2, Funny

      With practice, the pigeons will get faster at putting on their little space suits and the lag will get better.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
  10. It's called AFDX by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They already have Fault tolerant ethernet used in avionics systems called AFDX - why pay a foreign company to design an entirely new version of something we already have?

  11. "I think USB should be enough for anyone . . . " by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 2, Funny

    . . . and during those long, boring missions the astronauts can amuse themselves by untangling all those cables.

    Which would make a good high school space project: do USB cables tangle up in space, while under weightless conditions?

    If so, I'll take one look at the situation under my desk, and move into outer space.

    Plus, USB is cheap; companies give away hubs and memory sticks as advertising. NASA could keep costs down by scrounging USB gear.

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  12. Re:"I think USB should be enough for anyone . . . by Amouth · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2077237

    Gravity isn't required only some motion of the string

    --
    '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
  13. Easy... by RussDavisDotCom · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just set the TCP timeout to 1,586,654,255 seconds. Problem solved. Next.

    --
    My favorite phrase: You have 5 Moderator Points! Use 'em or lose 'em!
  14. Oh noes! by kheldan · · Score: 4, Funny

    Space ethernet + conficker = Skynet???!?

    --
    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!