Space Shuttle Tests Extra Terrestrial Fiber Optic Capabilities

Gould Fiber Opticsce Shuttle Discovery carried a fiber optic experiment on the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test (HOST) platform that was designed to determine if fiber optic communication would work in harsh space environments. In this experiment, telemetry data was transmitted via both standard copper lines and fiber optic lines the length of the shuttle. The fiber optic data was processed through an on-board laptop computer. Both types of data were downlinked to Earth for comparative analysis and evaluation. <%=company%> 1x2 and 2x2 multimode, specially connectorized couplers were used in a coupler card design that flew in the Shuttle's laptop Payload General Support Computer (PGSC).

The primary purpose of the coupler card was to provide attenuation and signal splitting between the HOST payload (a NASA Goddard experiment), and the shuttle's PGSC computer. The PGSC housed both the coupler card and a fiber optic transceiver card. The design provided an in-line means to monitor/troubleshoot the Fiber Optics Flight Experiment (FOFE) system without disconnecting cables/harnesses. During the transmission, the shuttle purposely flew through the South Atlantic Anomaly, part of the Van Allen radiation belt, to test the effect of high levels of radiation and electromagnetic interference on data transmission.

In future shuttle upgrades, fiber optic communication lines may be used in order to reduce weight and increase internal communication capability. Fiber optic lines will simplify data and communication interfaces and allow for more efficient payload processing and testing on the ground. Additionally, optical fibers are not susceptible to electromagnetic field such as those encountered in the Van Allen radiation belt.