A while ago I wrote about Ethernet marching on. The IEEE had ratified the IEEE 802.3bp Ethernet standard which addresses how Ethernet operates in harsh environments. Now Ethernet has been installed in the harshest environment where we live, the International Space Station. During an April 2019 Extravehicular Activities (EVA), U.S. astronaut Anne McClain and Canadian astronaut David Saint Jacques upgraded the International Space Station’s communication systems by installing Ethernet cables.
Cabling Install and Maintenance reports that during a six-plus-hour spacewalk the astronauts installed Ethernet cables on the exterior of the space station to upgrade the wireless communication system and to improve its hard-wired communication system.
CBS News says the spacewalker’s connected Ethernet cabling at the forward end of the station’s U.S.’s primary research laboratory for U.S. payloads module (Destiny module) that will extend wireless connectivity for science instruments mounted outside the space station.
NASA Tweeted a video clip of the cable installation during which the narrator explained, “... They’ll be de-mating and mating some cables to provide additional Ethernet to the International Space Station.”
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Pulling more cable to expand wireless coverage – nice to know some things are truly universal. Whether you call it cable pulling, or mating cables, the truck-roll cost to the ISS must be pretty steep. At least NASA installers don’t need ladders.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.