Survivability of optical fibers in space

The survivability of optical fibers for data bus and gyroscope applications in the natural space radiation environment has been analyzed using radiation-induced loss data of single mode, multimode, and polarization-maintaining fibers. Since it is virtually impossible to simulate the dynamic conditions of space, extrapolations have been made from measurements at dose rates, temperatures, and total doses different from those onboard spacecraft. The anticipated degradation of most Ge-doped silica core fibers and all pure silica core fibers appears to be well within allowable margins in fibers for data bus applications, while the radiation sensitivity of polarization-maintaining fibers could result in a significant decrease in fiber gyro performance.