NASA NTRS1992
A brief overview of the analyses performed to date on WL Experiment-701 is presented. Four active digital fiber optic links were directly exposed to the space environment for a period of 2114 days. The links were situated aboard the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) with the cabled, single fiber windings atop an experimental tray containing instrumentation for exercising the experiment in orbit. Despite the unplanned and prolonged exposure to trapped and galactic radiation, wide temperature extremes, atomic oxygen interactions, and micro-meteorite and debris impacts, in most instances the optical data links performed well within the experimental limits. Analysis of the recorded orbital data clearly indicates that fiber optic applications in space will meet with success. Ongoing tests and analysis of the experiment at the Phillips Laboratory's Optoelectronics Laboratory will expand this premise, and establish the first known and extensive database of active fiber optic link performance during prolonged space exposure. WL Exp-701 was designed as a feasibility demonstration for fiber optic technology in space applications, and to study the performance of operating fiber systems exposed to space environmental factors such as galactic radiation, and wide temperature cycling. WL Exp-701 is widely acknowledged as a benchmark accomplishment that clearly demonstrates, for the first time, that fiber optic technology can be successfully used in a variety of space applications.