Space tourism is a hot topic lately. It is estimated that within the next 25 years people will be taking trips to outer space instead of traveling around the globe.
(prHWY.com) January 28, 2013 - Seattle, WA -- Space tourism is a hot topic lately. It is estimated that within the next 25 years people will be taking trips to outer space instead of traveling around the globe. A Sacramento Internet company is preparing for space tourism by testing how high their Internet connection can go.
"We think that this is the first step to offering Internet in space", said the CEO of the company. "We need to see exactly at what elevation our Internet connection stops and what we can do to improve it."
There is a huge demand for an Internet connection in outer space. People who will be on the space tourism expedition will want to share photos, Skype chat with family and friends, and blog about their experiences. There is no way that can be done without a
reliable Internet connection.
"One of the things that we need to look into is if we need to invest in new satellite dishes", explained the CEO. "The one Internet connection that NASA uses and such rely upon satellites that revolve around Earth. We might need to invest in something like that to provide an Internet connection to our tourists."
The test to see how high the Internet connection can go will require an experiment. The company plans to launch several weather balloons with Internet capable devices attached. The balloons will go into space and send the Internet signal down to the main computer.
"This is the only way that we can figure out how to test how high the connection goes before it weakens", said the CEO. "We have gone to the highest building in the Sacramento area and the signal was strong. We need to go higher."
The balloons are scheduled to be launched sometime in April. There will be several test runs of the balloon launch.
"We need to have several launches", explained the CEO. "This will allow us to get different feedback for different weather conditions. The Internet signal may vary on a warmer day or a colder day. The different balloon launches will allow us to get accurate feedback."
If all goes well this Sacramento Internet company could be one of the first to offer Internet connections in space when space tourism starts. Right now, there are only a handful of Internet connections in space, but most are reserved for government purposes. This would be the first connection available to tourists in space.
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