How You Can Technically Play Minecraft on the ISS

The internet is one of the most important inventions of all time. We use it all the time. We use it to learn new things, we use it to connect with people, we use it to experience new things, and use it to have fun. Heck, I use the internet all the time, whether it is for researching and writing articles, playing video games with friends, or learning how something works. To sum it up, the internet is important. However, one problem that hasn’t been solved yet is access to reliable internet for everyone. For example, in the United States alone, there are over 19 million people that don’t have a reliable internet connection. Though there are some solutions that solve this problem, such as SpaceX’s satellite cluster Starlink, that isn’t what we are talking about today. Today, we are talking about how the ISS has internet access.

Astronaut Christina Koch Watching a 
Football Game on the ISS

First, we should talk a little bit more about how the internet works. The best way to think of the internet is a spider web, in which end devices, routers, and switches act as the main structural points of the web. End devices are devices like computers, TVs, landlines, and mobile devices, routers are devices that provide internet access to end devices, and switches are similar to switchboards used during the late 1800s and early 1900s when telephones were required for someone to switch you over to calls. Essentially, the network goes from the router to a switch, to multiple end devices. More complex networks will have multiple routers, which can help to support more end devices. In the end, this creates a very complex web of devices, which is called the internetwork (or the internet for short). Over the last few years, the internet has boomed. During the 1990s, dial-up was how people accessed the internet. I think the best way to explain it for anyone who has never used dial-up is imagining if your router took 10 minutes to start up and was extremely unreliable. Now, the internet is extremely quick in most places and the technology is becoming more and more advanced to make it faster and more reliable.

Network Data Flow

Now, you may be wondering why the ISS needs internet access? That's simple, why does anyone need internet access? To stay connected with the rest of the world. Astronauts on the ISS are able to watch live sports, TV, and movies, answer emails, and even video call with their family back on Earth. However, the internet on the ISS is very slow and is even often compared to dial-up. Additionally, the ISS has only had internet access since 2010, meaning that it has only had access to the internet for 11 years.

It's important to remember that there are many challenges with bringing the internet to space. The first is the motion and distances between the Earth and the ISS. Satellites are moving incredibly fast. For example, the ISS completes one orbit around Earth in about 90 minutes and is traveling at a speed of 27,724 kilometers per hour. This makes it hard to give a reliable connection. Another problem with motion is that solar radiation can disable communication for some time. Another challenge is the equipment is often very heavy and can play a big role in how the whole mission would play out. Finally, there has to be a set infrastructure to make sure just a single satellite gets internet access.

Currently, we have an advanced system of satellites in space and radio dishes on Earth which all work together to deliver internet to the ISS. There are three main space internet networks that are currently operating. The first is the NASA Space Network(SN). The SN was established in 1970 to communicate with satellites and spacecraft. There are two aspects to the SN: 10 geosynchronous satellites and two ground stations. The SN is able to transfer data and track satellites. It is mostly used by satellites in LEO and is used by the ISS.

Space Network Ground Terminal in Guam

There is also the NASA Near Earth Network(NEN). The NEN is a ground network that offers telecommunications and data services for satellites orbiting the Earth. Unlike the SN, the NEN is able to be accessed by all satellites in LEO, MEO, and GEO. In fact, the NEN is able to even provide communication to the Moon, which is about 250,000 miles away! To do this, NEN utilizes 15 ground stations all over the world.

NASA Near Earth Network Ground Station Located in Antarctica

Finally, there is the Deep Space Network(DSN), which is capable of supporting interplanetary space missions and astronomy research by using radio signals. To do this, the DSN uses three massive arrays of radio antennas around the world to ensure that all satellites have access to the DSN when the Earth rotates. However, the DSN is slow compared to other methods of communication. For example, communication between Mars and Earth can take anywhere from three to 20 minutes.

Casini, a Satellite Part of NASA's Deep Space Network

As for the ISS, it communicates via radio waves in the Ku- and S-band frequencies. To communicate, a message from Earth is sent up to a satellite in NASA’s TRDSS(Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System). The satellite that receives the message then sends it to the ISS and once the ISS has received the message, an astronaut aboard the ISS can access the information and reply to it. The message is sent back to Earth in the same way it came to the ISS, through the TRDSS system. These transmissions aren’t instantaneous and are often scheduled ahead of time because they can sometimes even take hours to transmit large amounts of data.

Diagram Demonstrating Connections
That Astronauts on the ISS
Have to make to Access the Internet

But, there are innovations that NASA developed to help increase data speeds and how we transport data, and they are being tested for the ISS. One innovation is NASA’s delay-tolerant networking(DTN). The DTN is a computer networking model that can operate efficiently in environments where there are often network disruptions, long delays, and high error rates. Overall, the DTN will be more reliable for satellites to use because it will use bandwidth more efficiently. To develop the DTN, NASA worked with Dr. Vinton G. Cerf, who is considered one of the fathers of the internet. In 2008, NASA conducted the first successful test of the DTN, in which they transmitted images to and from a spacecraft 20 million miles away. NASA is currently figuring out a way to implement the full DTN into the ISS. Currently, on the ISS, there are two versions of the DTN on ISS: the NASA-developed Interplanetary Overlay Network(ION) and the IRTF’s DTN2. The way the DTN works is it acts as a “store and forward” data network. The DTN stores parts of a data package in nodes along the communication pathway and then re-assembles the data package once it reaches its final destination. This way, the network can quickly move smaller packets than moving one large packet.

NASA is also developing communication systems that utilize lasers to transmit messages. Lasers are very helpful because laser beams can travel very large distances without signal loss, which is a common problem with deep-space communication using radio signals. Lasers also travel at the speed of light, making them incredibly fast. All in all, the multiple upsides to laser communication include faster data rates, larger data volumes, the ability to reach farther, and low error rates. However, laser communication requires very precise aiming, which is incredibly hard considering satellites orbit the Earth at thousands of miles per hour. Another problem with them is that they can be very easily distorted by the atmosphere. NASA is currently trying to figure out how to solve these problems.

Diagram Showing Speed of Laser Communication

One experiment that is on the ISS with lasers is the Optical Payload For Lasercomm Science(OPALS) and is supposed to be used for communication between the Earth and the ISS. Recent experiments show that OPALS is 10 to 1,000 times faster than the current radio system on the ISS. OPALS is very similar to fiber-optic cables, but it utilizes lasers. Now, you may be thinking “But Arnav, didn’t you just say that the atmosphere distorts the laser.” Yes, I did, but NASA has found a way around this distorting. By working with Boeing, NASA was able to create the adaptive optics instrument(AOI) for OPALS. The AOI is a technology that uses a high-speed camera and mirrors to detect and correct atmospheric distortion. However, there are still many problems with OPALS. As mentioned before, laser communication needs to be extremely precise and the weather can affect the OPALS's ability to track the receiver on Earth. OPALS delivers packets of data using optical lasers to a receiver on the ground. First, the receiving ground station figures a laser beacon which the OPALS are able to lock on to. OPALS then sends a receiving laser beam to the receiver which is incredibly hard considering that both the Earth and the ISS are moving. However, OPALS is much faster and NASA may start using laser communication over radio communication.

OPALS Attached to a Satellite

One solution that isn’t applicable to the ISS, but will be a big help in the Artemis Program is the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration(LCRD). The LCRD uses lasers for long-distance communication between the Moon and Earth and is 10 to 100 times faster than current technology. A laser system on the Moon is not only important for transmission speeds, but they are also lighter to carry, which in turn helps make the mission cheaper. One issue with long-distance laser communications is that light diffuses over long distances, so there is still a lot of testing happening. The first test was conducted in 2013 with a receiver on Earth and a satellite orbiting the Moon(LLCD Test). The lunar test with receivers on the Earth and the Moon launched in 2019 and will happen soon. The way the LLCD test worked was the four separate telescopes established a link with a satellite that was orbiting the Moon. Four telescopes were used to make up for the signal loss from atmospheric interference. The receiving satellite would collect and re-focus the light from the laser beams into an optical fiber, and convert it into data. The LCRD will use two ground terminals for the laser on Earth and will receive messages from the LCRD payload, a geosynchronous satellite. The LCRD payload will almost act as a router and will receive a laser beam from Earth, convert the light into a message, and send it back to Earth as a light signal.

Vodafone and Nokia's 4G Lunar Lander

There are future communication methods that are even being developed by private companies. One example of this is ATLAS’s commercial deep space network, which will utilize lasers and satellites in LEO, MEO, and GEO to communicate between commercial and government satellites and spacecraft. There is also Solstar’s Wi-Fi in space, which is in-flight wireless connectivity for future orbital flights. Spaceships will have a very sturdy router integrated into them to make sure they can withstand the rigors of flight. Finally, there is Vodafone and Nokia’s lunar lander that will deliver a 4G LTE network. This 4G network will be able to support scientific payloads on the Moon and will be a big help in the Artemis program.

Ultimately, internet access on the ISS isn’t the best. It is slow and not the most reliable. Also, it is extremely expensive because so many satellites and radio dishes on Earth all work together to help provide internet access to the ISS. However, NASA is working on multiple solutions, including switching to laser communication, which is faster and more reliable but has to be extremely precise. There are also multiple private companies that are creating solutions and making communication faster. So technically, you can play Minecraft on the ISS. It would probably be incredibly slow and not be fun, but you could still play. Maybe, 50 years from now, we could be playing Minecraft on the Moon or on Mars. But for now, I would still just play at home.

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Written by Kendra Chamberlain Kendra Chamberlain is a freelance journalist covering telecommunications. “Internet in SPACE: Bringing Wifi to Earth Orbit, the Moon, and Mars.” BroadbandNow, 15 Dec. 2020, broadbandnow.com/report/internet-wifi-service-in-space/.