{"id":111165,"date":"2024-05-03T09:05:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=111165"},"modified":"2025-07-18T14:25:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T21:25:37","slug":"in-honor-of-may-the-fourth-lets-talk-about-the-internet-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/in-honor-of-may-the-fourth-lets-talk-about-the-internet-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"In Honor of May the Fourth, Let\u2019s Talk About the Internet in Space"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It is time, once again, to celebrate the things that bring us together as tech and sci-fi lovers of the world. Today, to mark the upcoming high holiday, May the Fourth, we\u2019re bridging our current reality to that time long ago in a galaxy far, far away by discussing the important issues: How in the world are we expected to survive in space without good internet? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it\u2019s just me, but it seems absurd that the Death Star blueprints had to be literally carried off a spaceship on what\u2019s essentially an external hard drive when the Jedi Council (RIP) could make perfect holographic representations of themselves from across the galaxy. Sure, you can argue that making an off-site copy<\/a> and sneaking it out was the most covert way to go about it, but didn\u2019t some of those characters in Rogue One die next to a giant antenna? One powerful enough that it controlled traffic into and out of the planet? Why did they have to transmit the plans to the closest battleship when, in theory, they could have sent them anywhere?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never fear folks, we are here with what we think, based on a fair amount of research and our own humble opinions, are the answers. The truth is that current and future space internet still requires a good bit of hardware and networking<\/a>. Let\u2019s talk about where we\u2019re at today, where we could be in the near future, and why the Rebel Scum may have, in fact, needed to run faster than Darth Vader, sacrificing all those lives, to get the Death Star schematics out of the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do We Currently Move Data Through Space?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The internet, as we know and love it, is largely a function of hardware. To simplify things to their most base definition, the internet is a network of all the networks on the planet. Key word there, folks: planet.<\/strong> We use fiber optic cables to connect things on our terrestrial plane. What happens when we want to take things to space? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have a variety of telecommunications operations that allow us to move data through space, but they\u2019re nowhere near as fast as our fiber-optic cables, especially with recent advancements<\/a> in fiber transmission. To make our space communications that fast, we\u2019d need analogous hardware and\/or scientific advancements in some very cool research areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For today\u2019s conversation, here are the basics: when you transmit data (via any medium, not just through space), you convert it to a format computers can read, namely 0s and 1s. Typically we represent those values by modulating or fluctuating different types of electromagnetic waves<\/a>. Currently the most prevalent form of data transmission in space is radio, and lasers are a developing, but usable technology.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Frickin’ lasers. Source.<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Our Earth-based organizations move data through space both near<\/a> and far<\/a> using different networks of satellites and listening technology. Both use a satellite system called the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TRDS), which orbits Earth at a far enough range that relay points are nearly always visible to spacecraft like the International Space Station (ISS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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