Patrick Chan demonstrates one way that the Fiber Optic Sensing System is used by bending a fiber with a 3D representation of the fiber’s shape as it bends.

The Fiber Optic Sensing System team includes in the front from left Nick Finks, Ryan Warner, Patrick Chan and Paul Bean. In the back row from left are Shideh Naderi, Jeff Bauer, Allen Parker, Frank Pena and Nathan Perreau. Lance Richards, Anthony Piazza and Phil Hamory are current FOSS team members who are not pictured.

Shideh Naderi works on designing the electronics for the next generation Fiber Optic Sensing System.

NASA research engineer Jonathan Lopez secures a Compact Fiber Optic Sensing System unit, also known as a FOSS Rocket Box, which was developed at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. The unit is a new variant of aircraft technology that researchers have advanced to withstand the harsh environments of a rocket launch and space travel.

Jonathan Lopez works on a hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Feb. 13, 2025. The system measures strain and temperature, critical safety data for hypersonic vehicles that travel five time the speed of sound.

Jonathan Lopez prepares the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System for vibration tests in the Environmental Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.

Jonathan Lopez prepares the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System for vibration tests in the Environmental Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.

Jonathan Lopez and Nathan Rick prepare the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System for vibration tests in the Environmental Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.

A tank is used in CryoFILL experiments to liquefy oxygen at minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit as it could be done on the Moon or Mars. The tests conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center, used Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) developed by NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, to measure oxygen temperatures inside the tank.

A tank is used in CryoFILL experiments to liquefy oxygen at minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit as it could be done on the Moon or Mars. The tests conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center, used Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) developed by NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, to measure oxygen temperatures inside the tank.

A tank is used in CryoFILL experiments to liquefy oxygen at minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit as it could be done on the Moon or Mars. The tests conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center, used Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) developed by NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, to measure oxygen temperatures inside the tank.

A tank is used in CryoFILL experiments to liquefy oxygen at minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit as it could be done on the Moon or Mars. The tests conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center, used Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) developed by NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, to measure oxygen temperatures inside the tank.

NASA research engineer Jonathan Lopez works on preparing a Compact Fiber Optic Sensing System unit, also known as a FOSS Rocket Box, which was developed at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. The unit is a new variant of aircraft technology that researchers have advanced to withstand the harsh environments of a rocket launch and space travel.

Bolts are torqued on a Compact Fiber Optic Sensing System unit, also known as a FOSS Rocket Box, which was developed at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. NASA research engineer Jonathan Lopez works on the unit that is a new variant of aircraft technology that researchers have advanced to withstand the harsh environments of a rocket launch and space travel

Allen Parker, Mark Hagiwara, Paul Bean, Patrick Chan, Jonathan Lopez (seated), and Frank Pena comprise the Fiber Optic Sensing System team at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Edwards, California. The systems on the table measure strain and temperature, critical safety data for hypersonic vehicles that travel five time the speed of sound.

From left, April Torres and Karen Estes watch incoming data from vibration tests on the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.

April Torres, from left, Cryss Punteney, and Karen Estes watch as data flows from the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center’s FOSS, Fiber Optic Sensing System, recently supported tests of a system designed to turn oxygen into liquid oxygen, a component of rocket fuel. Patrick Chan, electronics engineer, and NASA Armstrong’s FOSS portfolio project manager, shows fiber like that used in the testing.

Patrick Chan, electronics engineer, and NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s FOSS portfolio project manager, shows a fiber used in a temperature sensing system. Armstrong’s Fiber Optic Sensing System was used to measure temperatures during tests aimed at turning oxygen into liquid oxygen. Testing was conducted at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

NASA engineer Larry Hudson and Ikhana ground crew member James Smith work on a ground validation test with new fiber optic sensors that led to validation flights on the Ikhana aircraft. NASA Dryden Flight Research Center is evaluating an advanced fiber optic-based sensing technology installed on the wings of NASA's Ikhana aircraft. The fiber optic system measures and displays the shape of the aircraft's wings in flight. There are other potential safety applications for the technology, such as vehicle structural health monitoring. If an aircraft structure can be monitored with sensors and a computer can manipulate flight control surfaces to compensate for stresses on the wings, structural control can be established to prevent situations that might otherwise result in a loss of control.

A red light confirms that the fiber of the Fiber Optic Sensing System installed on the Mock Truss-Braced Wing 10-foot model works as intended at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The fiber, which is about the thickness of a human hair, is part of a system that can provide strain information researchers can use to determine the model’s durability.

Patrick Chan, electronics engineer, and NASA Armstrong’s FOSS portfolio project manager, closely examines an optic fiber inside of a protective sleeve. Armstrong’s Fiber Optic Sensing System recently supported tests in which oxygen was turned into liquid oxygen at minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. Testing was aimed at developing technologies could allow future astronauts to manufacture rocket fuel on the Moon.

Engineering technician Jeff Howell mounts conventional strain gauges to the Mock Truss-Braced Wing 10-foot model at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The conventional system data will be compared the Fiber Optic Sensing System developed at the center on the same wing to see how well the testing methods match.

Although the new fiber optic sensors on the Ikhana, which are located on fibers that are the diameter of a human hair, are not visible, the sealant used to cover them can be seen in this view from above the left wing. NASA Dryden Flight Research Center is evaluating an advanced fiber optic-based sensing technology installed on the wings of NASA's Ikhana aircraft. The fiber optic system measures and displays the shape of the aircraft's wings in flight. There are other potential safety applications for the technology, such as vehicle structural health monitoring. If an aircraft structure can be monitored with sensors and a computer can manipulate flight control surfaces to compensate for stresses on the wings, structural control can be established to prevent situations that might otherwise result in a loss of control.

Ikhana fiber optic wing shape sensor team: clockwise from left, Anthony "Nino" Piazza, Allen Parker, William Ko and Lance Richards. The sensors, located along a fiber the thickness of a human hair, aren't visible in the center of the Ikhana aircraft's left wing. NASA Dryden Flight Research Center is evaluating an advanced fiber optic-based sensing technology installed on the wings of NASA's Ikhana aircraft. The fiber optic system measures and displays the shape of the aircraft's wings in flight. There are other potential safety applications for the technology, such as vehicle structural health monitoring. If an aircraft structure can be monitored with sensors and a computer can manipulate flight control surfaces to compensate for stresses on the wings, structural control can be established to prevent situations that might otherwise result in a loss of control.

Jonathan Lopez and Allen Parker confer on the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensor System at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on February 13, 2025. The system measures strain and temperature, critical safety data for hypersonic vehicles that travel five time the speed of sound.