Space Physics Analysis Network

Overview
The Space Physics Analysis Network (SPAN) was created in 1981 to assist scientists conducting NASA-related research. It provided a system for scientists to share unclassified data and ideas, and to collaborate on space-related NASA research efforts. SPAN developed rapidly into an international network serving an estimated 100,000 individual users. SPAN connected government, private industry, and university computers in the United States, and provides connections to Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, and South America. Individual users can access SPAN in various ways. For example, authorized users from almost anywhere in the world could connect to a computer on SPAN using a home computer and the public telephone system.