United States – A new networking technology called “Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) is being tested on the International Space Station (ISS).

This technology could give the astronauts a direct access to the Internet in one year. It is in fact a new communication protocol, similar to the TCP / IP defines how information is encoded and sent across the network. The big difference is that TCP / IP network uses an uninterrupted while DTN composed with communications which can be cut when the spacecraft is moving in space.

DTN is responding to these cuts by storing data in a queue until the optimal conditions reappear. This method can thus support cuts of about a second at the day. The DTN could reduce transmission costs and allow more complex missions. An “Interplanetary Internet” could transmit information at high speed over millions of miles away. The first node of the network was sent to the ISS in May. End of 2010, DTN technology theoretically will allow the astronauts to use Twitter in space!