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ISS Launches First Permanent Node of "Interplanetary Internet"

Posted by timothy on from the wake-me-up-when-the-terminator-gets-here dept.

schliz writes "Researchers developing the 'Interplanetary Internet' have launched its first permanent node in space via a payload aboard the International Space Station. The network is based on a new communications protocol called Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN). It will be tested heavily this month, and could give astronauts direct Internet access within a year. The Interplanetary Internet is the brainchild of Vint Cerf ('father of the Internet'), among others. Last year, NASA tested the technology on the Deep Impact spacecraft." Update: 07/13 20:01 GMT by KD : If by "permanent" we mean seven years.

21 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. It will be tested heavily this month... by ei4anb · · Score: 4, Funny

    "It will be tested heavily this month" , so, they are going to post the URL on slashdot ?

    1. Re:It will be tested heavily this month... by GaryOlson · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Seed a torrent of the latest Harry Potter movie....that should demonstrate the magic of DTN.

      --
      Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
    2. Re:It will be tested heavily this month... by CarpetShark · · Score: 2, Informative

      "It will be tested heavily this month" , so, they are going to post the URL on slashdot ?

      No, they're going to let slashdotters whine about it, and see if it cracks.

    3. Re:It will be tested heavily this month... by boaworm · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well at least the DMCA should not apply in Space, should it?

      --
      Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities.
      Aristotele
  2. lol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It...could give astronauts direct Internet access within a year

    i am in ur space station, trollin' ur boards!

  3. "Permanent"??? by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Uh... sorry. But NASA's plans for the ISS, or anything like it at this time, are hardly "permanent".

    If you want them to be, get off your butts and tell that to the Whitehouse and your Congresscritters. Because they obviously don't know.

    1. Re:"Permanent"??? by owlstead · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Permanent is relative. It may be permanent compared to the time ISS will stay in space from the moment they install the node. In the end, of course, nothing is completely permanent compared to the time left to the universe - unless it disappears suddenly.

    2. Re:"Permanent"??? by mikiN · · Score: 2, Funny

      nope, I think they should post it on eBay. They can even offer (ballistic) shipping worldwide. Winner of the bid assumes full liability for any damages during and after re-entry and should make arrangements for insurance or alternative shipping method if desired.

      --
      The Hacker's Guide To The Kernel: Don't panic()!
  4. It is only a matter of time... by lxs · · Score: 2, Funny

    Before we'll have our first bittorrent tracker on mars.

  5. Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking? by BenEnglishAtHome · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hmmmmm. Will we get an earthly version of DTN that ensures I can successfully download large files over TOR? Now, *that* would be useful.

  6. Define "permanent" by qengho · · Score: 5, Informative

    It'll be permanent until the ISS is de-orbited in 2016, eh?

  7. Don't slashdot that server.... by drachenfyre · · Score: 2, Funny

    The consequences might be a little rough.

  8. As Jerry Seinfeld would say by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 2, Funny

    They named the spacecraft "Deep Impact" ...Who's the rocket scientist who came up with that one?

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  9. Do we really need the Internet on the ISS? by defireman · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If experience on Slashdot has taught me anything, having the Internet on ISS is a bad idea. The astronauts will spend half the time surfing the Internet instead of running 'scientific experiments'.

    .. or downloading the latest Michael Jackson DVDs for a hands on tutorial of the 'Moonwalk'.

  10. Last Post by PotatoFiend · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sorry, posting this from ISS.

    --
    "Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty as well as the abuses of power." -- James Madison
  11. What protocols is it using? by scubamage · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Ok, dorky question, but what protocols is it using? I mean, how does it make up for the sometimes massive EMD that will be in the way occasionally? A thunderstorm? TCP doesn't seem like it would be enough to handle the interference. Is it a microwave transmission? Are they using blinky lights? Are they using ethernet or some WAN technology? Do they use IPv6?

    1. Re:What protocols is it using? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      it uses, of course, DTN, as the protocol. DTN sits in between IP and the other layers (UDP,TCP).. Think of it is as intelligent "store and forward" routing for long latency or sporadic links. It has a lot of flavors, but ultimately, you transfer a bundle of data to another node (perhaps on a predetermined schedule), when the other node agrees it's got it, "custody" of the bundle transfers.

      The physical layer is standard microwave for space (S and K band for station, X band and Ka band for deep space links of the future). It can also be carried over wired media (or heck, avian carriers as well)

    2. Re:What protocols is it using? by scubamage · · Score: 3, Informative

      Also, despite the bad form of replying to myself, I found the RFC's specifying the protocols here: RFC 4838 (DTN) and RFC 5050.

  12. Re:I thought... by jandrese · · Score: 2, Informative

    A single DTN node is not terribly useful, where you see advantages is when you have multiple lossy or intermittent links along the path. In this case, TCP will perform very poorly as it can only even try to push data on the cases where all of the links are up and will suffer a lot from TCP's slow start.

    Think of it like a game of Frogger: TCP only knows how to play by waiting until all of the cars and logs are line up just right so it can jump all of the way across at once. DTN plays like a human player, one step at a time while it's safe and then waiting for it to become safe for the next step.

    One of the interesting aspects of DTN is that it is transport layer agnostic. This means the very same bundle can be sent over TCP, then SCPS, then USB key or whatever and the applications never have to deal with it. The applications only have to speak DTN. There are local Daemons in the network that choose the most optimal transport protocol for whatever the next hop is, and then send the bundle over that.

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
  13. Re:Cool protocol.. but sounds a bit familiar... by ae1294 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This does not belong in the kernel.

    Have you looked at the .config file lately? THERE is A LOT that shouldn't be in the kernel..

  14. Re:Cool protocol.. but sounds a bit familiar... by jd · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Given that DTN sits between two layers already in the kernel, it'd be stupid to have DTN in userspace. (Stupid and potentially dangerous, as you then have a userspace app injecting data into a fairly low level part of the kernel in a way that would have to bypass a lot of safeguards.)

    As for stuff that's in the kernel that shouldn't be - want to give some examples? I can think of a few things that are probably not great, but I can't think of anything that absolutely shouldn't be there.

    --
    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)