San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco said Jan. 13 it has completed a successful in-orbit test of its first space-based Internet router, which Intelsat-14 “>launched aboard Intelsat’s IS-14 satellite in late November. Cisco built the router for the U.S. Defense Department’s Internet Routing in Space (IRIS) technology demonstration. The Pentagon intends to spend three months using the IRIS payload to test the military utility of the capability, which is meant to eliminate the need for ground-based signal processing and data distribution.
Although the Pentagon is funding the experiment, Cisco owns the router and plans to convert it to commercial use in April following the demonstration.
