In 1964, Arthur C. Clarke perceptively noted that “one day, we
may have brain surgeons in Edinburgh operating on patients in
New Zealand. When that time comes, the whole world would’ve
shrunk to a point and the traditional role of the city as a
meeting place for men would’ve ceased to make any sense. In
fact, men will no longer commute—they will communicate.”
Clarke’s comment predicts rather accurately some of the
achievements in man’s outer space activities since the Sputnik
launch in 1957 and the signature of the Outer Space Treaty in
1967. As the year turns into 2012, communications satellites
allow personal communications and the mass distribution of
information on a global basis—helping to remove the digital
divide. Such characteristics now allow telemedicine by satellite
in remote areas and in emergencies, teleconsultation and patient
monitoring, and represent perhaps the best means of ensuring
access to information and medical services for all. Access to
space is still a new resource whose users may be