Universal Orbital Material Processing Module

To address NASA need for sustainable space operations and full utilization of the International Space Station (ISS) and specifically to advance the "Materials, Structures, Mechanical Systems and Manufacturing" Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Universal Orbital Material Processing Module (UniMatPro), an orbital scientific payload that will be capable of optical fiber draw on board ISS. The specific product of this development is "ZBLAN", an optical fiber based on a fluoride glass composition. Due to its unique transmission from ultraviolet to midwave infrared, ZBLAN has immediate applications ranging from medical fiber lasers to military airplane countermeasures. ZBLAN glass and glass fibers, when produced on Earth, exhibit excessive insertion loss due to crystallization; however, this crystallization can be suppressed in zero gravity. Low down-mass and the high value of low-loss ZBLAN fiber make it an ideal candidate for commercial ISS utilization. In Phase I POC will design the processing unit for ZBLAN fiber manufacturing on the ISS based on a novel draw process without recoating. We will demonstrate the feasibility of battery-powered wireless operation for a TRL-4 prototype, achieving TRL 6-8 by the end of Phase II, followed by an opportunity to expand the UniMatPro module utilization for processing other prospective materials.

The primary NASA application of the proposed UniMatPro module is commercial product manufacturing onboard the ISS. Such commercial utilization of ISS capabilities will align the existing commercial manufacturing needs on Earth with ISS material science development goals and will ensure continuous expansion of critical manufacturing capabilities on orbit. Specific commercial model development for ZBLAN optical fiber manufacturing in combination with up-and-down the orbit delivery of materials and products in the UniMatPro effort will serve as a backbone for evaluation and implementation of the next generation of manufacturing capabilities on board the ISS. The resulting ZBLAN optical fiber product of UniMatPro development will have unique optical transmission, from ultraviolet to the midwave infrared, that will be utilized in NASA remote sensing, hyperspectral imaging, atmospheric monitoring, and optical data communications.

The applications of the UniMatPro low-loss ZBLAN fiber will include infrared countermeasures for protection of military and civil airborne platforms from heat-seeking missiles, midinfrared lasers for medical, industrial, and military applications and next-generation optical communications. The immediate need of the U.S. Air Force and Navy for midwave infrared laser sources will be addressed through the active ZBLAN fiber manufacturing on orbit, which would allow fiber laser manufacturing for this challenging spectral range. Low-loss midwave infrared transmitting fibers will enable fiber energy delivery for emerging quantum cascade lasers for remote optical sensing and material processing applications in the spectral range of resonant vibration absorption of a variety of essential materials, thereby expanding overall industrial capabilities in process control, safety, and environmental monitoring. The possibility of the insertion loss reduction in ZBLAN fibers beyond the existing state of the art can also revolutionize optical communications.

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