Space-Based Internet

"Cisco will provide the software for an on-board router in a space project it is conducting for the U.S. Department of Defense. The Internet routing in space (IRIS) project 'allows direct IP routing over satellite,' said Intelsat General Vice President Don Brown in a statement, 'eliminating the need for routing via a ground-based teleport, thereby dramatically increasing the efficiency and flexibility of the satellite communications link.' Like ARPANET, 'IRIS is to the future of satellite-based communications what ARPANET was to the creation of the Internet in the 1960s,' he added. ARPANET was the military’s predecessor to the current Internet.

"The project may lead to a completely space-based Internet. Internet traffic between satellites or space vehicles is currently routed through a remote terminal on Earth. IRIS will allow space-to-space Internet traffic to avoid traveling back to Earth, unless it needs to be finally delivered here. It’s possible the project could lead to a faster global IP network, since traffic could travel in space and only come back for delivery." /mobile-tech-today/