The countdown is on for Santa Barbara County's commercial satellite industry to blast off by Andrew Petty Northern Santa Barbara County has the potential of becoming similar to Silicon Valley, undergoing the most drastic technological and economic change California has seen in decades. Just this morning, you might have purchased gas with your credit card at the pump. Your funds were wirelessly transferred via satellite. UPS uses satellite technology to deliver your packages at work. Wal-Mart used satellites to count inventory of the goods you bought.
Many wireless phones are dependant on satellites to bounce their signals.
Satellites are also responsible for bringing your favorite television shows to your living room. Seemingly overnight, satellites have become essential to human existence. In the near future, your Internet will be connected to satellite communications, making your modem faster than ever before. Soon, when you will get into your car a monitor will tell you how to get to any place in the country, complete with photographs of the landmarks, due to satellite technology. Vandenberg could be responsible for much of how that future unfolds.