FOMS (Fiber Optics Manufacturing in Space) is focused on optical fiber manufacturing in microgravity.
Created: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2023-03-05
Product/Service - SpaceFORM, Space Fibers
- Classification
- In-Space Manufacturing
- Category
- In-Space Manufacturing
- Fields
- ZBLAN
- Status
- Demonstrated
- First launch
- 2019
Have received a total of $873 000 from NASA SBIR Phase I and II programs to develop Space Facility for Orbital Remote Manufacturing (SPACEFORM). Phase I was meant to increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) from TRL3 to TRL5 and Phase II from TRL6 to TRL8. FOMS has also demonstrated fiber production on parabolic aircraft flights in 2014. In the end of 2017, FOMS expected to launch their payload capable of producting multiple kilometer of fiber by the end of 2018. It launched in 2019 and produced fiber. They also received an award from Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS). FOMS holds a Trademark on SpaceFiber™. The NASA project funding was protested by Made In Space, which was dismissed.
Our equipment offers the following set of capabilities for fiber production in space:
- Production capacity up to 50km per mission in a small and cost-effective form factor.
- Multiple doped and undoped fibers fabrication option in a single payload.
- Processing temperature range exceeding 1000°C that covers most of known glasses.
- Gravity immune manufacturing hardware for best fiber in any orientation or gravity.
- Intuitive software interface with option of automatic optimization of the fiber quality.
- The innovations will be used to demonstrate automated production of high-quality optical fibers in microgravity for use in applications on Earth. The payloads are Space Fibers 3 developed by San Diego-based FOMS, Inc. and the Orbital Fiber Optic Production Module (ORFOM) from Mercury Systems of Torrance, California.
- Fiber manufacturing runs using the new hardware from FOMS and Mercury Systems are expected to last up to two weeks for each payload on the station. NASA’s InSPA program will assess results to help inform future hardware improvements and steps toward potential optical fiber manufacturing in space in the coming years.
Status Comment / Notes
News, Research, Projects and Patents
| Title | Type | Date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOMS reports high-quality ZBLAN production on ISS | News | 2019-11-07 | > |
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