XPost: sci.space.moderated, sci.space.station, sci.space.tech   
   From: henry@spsystems.net   
      
   In article ,   
   Ken Taylor  wrote:   
   >...Satellite to satellite can   
   >be done, as in the Iridium system, but I don't know of any other system   
   >off-hand which is commercial and made it to service. There's generally not   
   >actually a need.   
      
   Iridium does it, and there is some use of GSO comsats to talk to stuff in   
   low orbit (notably but not exclusively, NASA's TDRS system), but nobody's   
   done GSO comsats with intersatellite links, yet.  It's been talked about   
   for some special purposes -- e.g., at one time, the DSP missile-warning   
   satellites in GSO were going to have laser cross-links so that White Sands   
   could talk to all of them without needing overseas ground stations -- but   
   it hasn't actually happened yet.  At least, not on anything unclassified.   
   --   
   MOST launched 30 June; first light, 29 July; 5arcsec    | Henry Spencer   
   pointing, 10 Sept; first science, early Oct; all well.  | henry@spsystems.net   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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