Fiber optics demonstrated use in space vehicles

Abstract

An engineering accomplishment that profoundly shaped the 20/sup th/ century, fiber optics, has already been introduced to manned space flight. Two high-profile projects on board one of the Space Shuttle's highest-visibility flights, Space Transportation System (STS) 95, demonstrated its successful use in Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) and Fiber Optic Flight Experiment (FOFE) applications. STS95 was the John Glenn flight. For IVHM, single mode fiber was used for strain and temperature sensing associated with the engine pitch actuator strut, and multi-mode fiber was used for communication associated with detection of gaseous hydrogen in the Shuttle aft area. For FOFE, multi-mode fiber was used as a communications medium, enabling the transfer of Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) data through a fiber bus to the Payload General Support Computer. The success of the IVHM and FOFE applications has resulted in baselining optics into space programs.