NASA's Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS), collected temperature data during the agency's recent Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) mission, proving that it's ready to monitor spacecraft systems for future missions. FOSS uses long strands of fiber optic wire about the thickness of a human hair to take thousands of measurements of temperature, strain, and other information critical to mission safety. In the past, collecting and transmitting such data required miles of wires, harnesses to keep those wires in place, and bulky sensors - all of which add weight and complexity to aircraft systems. Originally developed for aircraft at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, researchers adapted FOSS for spacecraft use.
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