Blog 5: NASA aims to transform the Internet with new Laser Technology
As I referenced in my previous blog posts, the Internet has already changed the landscape of how we perform and communicate with others, and we are still improving what the Web is capable of. The more we interact with and improve technology, the more dramatic effect the Internet will have on our daily lives. Social networking has had increasingly profound effects on the way we all interact with one another, and how advertisers attempt to reach consumers. A wireless connection is crucial to the Internet, and as more people are connecting, wireless speeds will need to increase so that ISP's can support a larger network of people.
NASA has come up with a possible solution for slower/halting network speeds. In 2019, they plan on releasing a gigantic space laser that will transmit data between Earth and the International Space Station. The laser is supposedly providing Internet 100 times faster than current broadband Internet. If this project is a success, it will definitely lead to advances for everyday Internet users, not just the astronauts at NASA. This connection is so powerful that it can receive crystal-clear messages from space in a matter of seconds.
If this type of laser communications technology reaches the consumer level, and it is almost inevitable that it will, it will further shape the way we use the Internet for our daily lives. Cable television viewership has already begun to diminish, due to the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, and a more solidified Internet connection would further impact TV audiences. Bringing Internet to space is something that did not even seem achievable thirty or forty years ago, and now astronauts could be getting exponentially better Internet than most do. The advancement of the human species is fascinating to watch. we currently live in the fastest moving era in human history. The Internet has been one of the greatest inventions of modern man, and we are doing even more to further develop it so that we can take full advantage of the benefits it brings such as networking with other people.
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