The internet speed at NASA is fast, really fast. The average speed for space-bound astronauts is about 600 Mbps. That’s the equivalent of a 25Mbps connection on Earth.
I Know What You’re Thinking: “Why Do They Need Such High Speeds In Space?”
Well, it turns out that sending data from one spot to another is much more complicated than we think! For instance, when an astronaut takes photos or video footage of something on Earth and uploads it to the ground station in Houston, Texas, that information has to travel through multiple satellites around the globe before finally being received by a dish back here on our planet. So with all these steps involved in transmitting data, you can see why NASA would need super-fast internet access.
If you are like most people, then the speed at which data travels from your computer to NASA’s servers is probably not a priority. However, if you are an astronaut on the International Space Station that orbits Earth at 17,500 miles per hour and moves 400 kilometers every 90 minutes (about 1/2 of the earth’s circumference), then internet speed becomes much more important.
How Does NASA Deal With This Internet Speed Problem?
NASA’s IT Department has a system of servers called “Gateways” that are positioned on the ground at installations across Earth. These Gateways receive signals from satellites, decode them and then route information to NASA sites around the world at gigabit speeds. So while we may not really think about this issue very often, it can be critical for astronauts who need fast internet access in order to do their jobs properly!
Which Internet Service NASA Use?
NASA has partnered with EarthLink to provide what they call “Internet connectivity for NASA missions, operations, education, and research.” The contract was awarded in 1999.
The provider of internet service is a private company called EarthLink Communications which provides high-speed access through its geostationary satellite network that orbits 22,000 miles above the equator. In order to ensure the safety and security of data transmission, all transmissions are encrypted by Secure Socket Layer or SSL technology before being transmitted across the open Internet using TCP/IP protocol suite. With this kind of setup, it’s not possible for anyone else on an unsecured WiFi connection to spy on your activity!
Does NASA Use Internet On Space?
NASA has a long history with the internet, as it was one of the first major governmental entities to create web-based services and offer access to Internet service for its employees.
The Internet is an important aspect of NASA’s everyday life in that all data is transmitted through this medium. For example, most working at NASA have their own homepages which they can update as needed or fill out forms online when required. In addition, many computers are connected within networks interconnected by thousandths-of-a-second timing synchronization over TCP/IP connections on the Worldwide Web via secure encryption SSL technology – preventing packet sniffing from outside eavesdroppers who might be trying to steal sensitive information like passwords or credit card numbers!
Just What Would Happen If The International Space Station Lost Its Internet And Radio Connection With Earth?
And what are the steps that NASA takes to protect astronauts’ communications in space?
The first step is for a ground-based station to detect and identify any interruption of signals between ISS astronauts and their home base. In this case, it’s Houston Mission Control or Russia’s Soyuz control center. Once they’ve confirmed there’s an outage, maintenance personnel on earth will work quickly (using portable radios) to try to get service restored as soon as possible – typically before the end of day shift in Houston – so no one has been left out of contact too long. If signal restoration still doesn’t occur by then, NASA’s authority will have someone interpret the data from the black box.
According to a NASA’s Engineer – “The problem is often a hardware failure, in which case we may need to send someone up with replacement parts and tools to do some troubleshooting on site. We count ourselves lucky if this happens at all – these types of repairs are rarely needed, thanks largely to our decades-long experience building spacecraft that can withstand extreme temperature ranges and unexpected jolts during launch or landing.”
If you’re wondering about internet speed for astronauts aboard ISS – it’s much slower than what most people get back on Earth! The “best” they might hope for is one megabit per second (Mbps) download speeds via satellite connection while receiving data packages between 300 kilobytes/second (KBps).