Internet Router In Space

US military have planned to put internet router in space:The satellite is set for launch in the first quarter of 2009

ROUTER

The US military are planning to test an internet router in space, in a project that may benefit civilian broadband satellite communications.

Companies like Cisco Systemsand Intelsat General, a subsidiary of Intelsat, are selected by the US Department of Defence for its Internet Routing In Space (IRIS) project, which aims to deliver military communications through a satellite-based router.

Presently to send a message from one remote terminal to another via satellite we requires the first terminal to send the data to the satellite, from where it is bounced back to an earth station for routing. The earth station re-transmits it to the satellite on a different frequency, selected depending on its destination, and the satellite bounces it back to its destination. With the router in space, the satellite can pick the channel used to send the message to its destination. By eliminating the message's round trip to the earth station, operators can increase satellite capacity and reduce transmission times between remote terminals by using fewer hops and fewer frequencies for each message.For the IRIS program, satellite operator Intelsat will manage the three-year project, while Cisco will provide IP networking software for the on-board router.Internet routing technology being tested in the IRIS project will enable this communication by "decoding what comes up in the C-band or Ku-band and interconnecting the two," says Wood.

The IRIS payload will support network services for voice, video and data. The system is designed to support IP packet Layer 3 routing or multicast distribution, which can be reconfigured on demand.The Defense Information Systems Agency will have overall responsibility for coordinating the use of IRIS technology among government users and leveraging IRIS capability once the satellite is in space.