April 24, 2007 — The Internet, which has done well to connect distant places and people, is now branching out even further — into space. This month, the U.S. military announced a project to test Internet routing on orbiting satellites.
IRIS (for "Internet Routing in Space") will allow different branches of the military, such as the Army, Navy and Air Force, to communicate with each other instantly and spontaneously. It could also spread to the civilian market to give users in remote locations broadband service where no other electronic communication exists.
