Page 83 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

in-space manufacturing. As a result, Made In Space In Space conducted the Optical Fiber Production in
partnered with Lowe’s Innovation Labs in 2016 to Microgravity investigation on the ISS from September
launch and install the AMF—the second-generation, 2017-2018 to set the stage for large-scale manufacture
space-based 3-D printer—on the ISS. To date, this of high-quality fiber optics in orbit.
privately owned facility has manufactured more than
100 parts, tools and assemblies for both commercial
and government customers. Small Business Makes Big Strides in
In 2018, Made In Space secured a NASA SBIR contract Commercialization of Low-Earth Orbit
for the development of the Vulcan Advanced Hybrid The path to discovery and exploration is paved with
Manufacturing System, which will “address NASA’s determination, innovation and, most of all, big ideas.
requirement to produce high-strength, high-precision The ISS is home to many of those ideas and is creating
components on-orbit with comparable quality to new ways for small businesses, entrepreneurs and
commercially-available, terrestrial machined parts.” researchers to test their science and technology in
The facility will essentially be a powerful upgrade to space every day.
the capabilities enabled by the AMF that is currently
installed on the space station. Additionally, Made Formed in 2015 in response to the need for a
commercial payload that would be available to private
In Space has received a $20 million NASA contract companies aboard the space station, Alpha Space is
to develop Archinaut, a platform for the additive
manufacturing and assembly of large, complex
systems in space without astronaut extravehicular
activity. The project is a partnership between Made
In Space, Northrop Grumman Corporation and
Oceaneering Space Systems.
In 2016, plans to begin the commercial manufacturing
of high-fidelity optical ZBLAN fibers in space via
its Made In Space fiber facility were announced.
Theoretically, ZBLAN fibers produced in space develop
smoothly and clearly, and with far fewer defects, unlike
those produced on Earth. ZBLAN is fluorine combined
with metals: zirconium (Zr), barium (Ba), lanthanum
La), aluminum (Al) and sodium (Na), hence the name.
ZBLAN offers significant advantages over the traditional
silica-derived optical fibers used commonly around
the world. ZBLAN fibers offer two advantages.
First, because they can transmit a broader spectrum, The Materials ISS Experiment-Flight Facility
(MISSE-FF) in the Japanese Experiment
several lasers of different colors could use the same Module (JEM) prior to transit through the
fiber at the same time. Second, they absorb less light JEM airlock inner hatch and mounting on
(look through the edge of a window pane and you the JEM external facility.
see how quickly light is extinguished); therefore, fewer
signal boosters (called repeaters) are needed in long- Image credit: NASA
distance cables.
Fabricating ZBLAN fibers on Earth has proven to
be difficult due to the convection processes involved
at 1-g, and the formation of bubbles and crystals in
the pulled fibers. In 1998, NASA demonstrated that The path to discovery and
heating ZBLAN fiber to its crystallization temperature
in 1-g rapidly produced crystals; however, the same exploration is paved with
temperatures in low-g conditions did not produce a determination, innovation
crystal lattice. The major benefit of ZBLAN fibers over
silica fibers, or any fibers, is that a perfect ZBLAN glass and, most of all, big ideas.
should transmit light near the theoretical best allowed
by matter. In collaboration with Thorlabs Inc., Made

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