CASE STUDY
Mercury + NASA
Mercury and NASA manufacture high-
performance optical fibers in microgravity
CHALLENGE
Optical fibers are most commonly made of
silica (SiO
2
) glass but optical losses in the fiber
challenge signals across long transmission
distances. ZBLAN (ZrF
4
-BaF
2
-LaF
3
-AlF
3
-NaF)
is a type of fluoride-based optical fiber
glass that has the potential to perform up to
100 times more efficiently than traditional
silica-based fibers. However, when ZBLAN is
produced on Earth, gravity-driven forces cause
impurities to form in the fibers, significantly
hindering their performance.
A microgravity manufacturing environment
for optical fibers is believed to eliminate the
defects in the manufacturing process that
occur on Earth, leading to higher-quality
fibers than can be produced on the ground.
These high-performance fibers provide a
unique optical transmission spectrum, have
potential use in space-based applications
and could also lead to advancements in many
commercial industries.
SOLUTION
NASA's advanced materials research study
will create high-value optical fibers aboard
the International Space Station (ISS) using
ZBLAN. NASA's extensive theoretical studies
along with a limited number of experimental
studies suggest that ZBLAN optical fibers
produced in microgravity should exhibit
qualities far superior to those produced on
Earth. The resulting optical fiber is expected
to help verify these studies and guide further
engineering efforts to manufacture high-value
optical fiber in large volume aboard the ISS.
RESULT
In April 2019, a fully functional engineering
prototype designed and built by Mercury was
launched into orbit to meet the ISS. Currently
the prototype is at a TRL7, having successfully
drawn fiber in space and demonstrated fiber
manufacturing in space, and Mercury expects
to help prove NASA's theory in 2025 with the
2.0 prototype.
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