Logging On at Mach 6
Bringing new, potential meaning to the term, space pirate, is Fayetteville, AR-based aerospace firm Space Photonics who, according to the Northwest Arkansas Morning News, is working to up the bandwidth on military/government space and aircraft using optical technology. Check out the powerpoint slide below to get a better idea of how communication "turrets" would connect with satellites to get high-speed ‘net (and other communications) connections through to fast moving targets.
While the technology might mean that future Maverick’s can pirate copies of The Fast and the Furious VII: Golfcarts of Doom on their forays into the wild, blue yonder, the real excitement its stirring up centers around the potential it opens up for "synchronized communication lines between satellites." While the Morning News seems to think that this might translate into synchronized satellite orbiting competitions, its more likely to change communications in other more important ways.
