Overview

Fibertek is a company from Virginia, United States, that designs all mechanical, electrical and optical subsystems for advanced lasers and electro-optic systems. The company also defines engineering requirements and integrates COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) parts. Since 1986, Fibertek has been awarded over $47 million in contracts from the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. Fibertek is a member of the SBIR and STTR programs.

 

Projects

Fibertek is ISO 9001:2015 certified and has active and completed projects in aircraft, UAV, space station, spacecraft, terrestrial vehicles, ground solutions, ships, and submarines. The company’s Engineering Support Services (ESS) has worked with the U.S. Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) at Fort Belvoir in Virginia for over 20 years. Fibertek also has engineering support contracts with NASA and the US Army Communications-Electronic Research, Development, and Engineering Centers (CERDEC). [1]

 

CubeSat

CubeSat is a Fibertek initiative to produce a low SWaP, large bandwidth laser satcom system. The program was originally set up for integration with NASA’s Phase II program but was re-purposed for integration in BridgeSat’s 6U CubeSat program. The first and original device operates at 1.5 micron, is 2U in size (roughly 10 x 10 x 20 cm), weighs under 1.8kg, operates at less than 30 W, and transmits 1 to 10 Gbps at LEO orbit. [2] Fibertek developed a second device that contained two lightweight 1U modules so that the optical and electrical components could be separated. For example, the optical component could be mounted on a gimbal outside the satellite whereas the electrical component could be mounted inside the satellite to reduce thermal noise. [3]

Fibertek’s first device was integrated into a 6U CubeSat and launched in 2018. The second-generation unit contains bi-directional capabilities and will be delivered to NASA some time in 2019. The company expects to fabricate and deliver two more devices for spaceflight in 2020.

 

CALIPSO

CALIPSO (Cloud Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) is a satellite launched by Fibertek on April 28, 2006, for the purpose of observing clouds and aerosols. The data collected by CALIPSO allows scientists to study the formation and evolution of clouds. CALIPSO also gives information on how clouds interact with and affect air quality, weather, and climate. As of 2015, over 6 billion laser shots have been fired from CALIPSO: an average of one shot every 48 milliseconds. [4]

 

Related Links

Paper: Advances in CubeSat Laser Communications Transceiver

Presentation: CubeSat Transceiver Presentation to NASA

 

Website: Bloomberg research on Fibertek

Website: Fibertek Homepage Overview

Website: SBIR-STTR Information on Fibertek