🚀 go-pugleaf

-From: Mark.Perew@p201.f208.n103.z1.fidonet.org
-Subject: Fiber optic umbilical
-Date: 4 Jan 93 15:30:14 GMT

-Putting a fiber optic umbilical on a remote sensing platform designed to
-traverse rough terrain seems very odd to me.  Can someone explain to me why 
-this was done?  A few things come to mind such as eliminating the weight
-required for a radio and associated power supply.  Also the fiber optic does
-allow for high reliability and high speed data transfer.

-I'm *not* throwing stones at the Dante folks.  I'm just doing some head
-scratching and hoping someone will explain this to me.

Well, one thing for sure - plans for an Earth-Mars fiber optic link
will have to be scrapped. :-)

I can imagine the Dante team trying to straighten out the cable by hand,
and that tiny, heartbreaking "snap" (or maybe they didn't hear anything
at all). Commercial fiber optic cable is great in stationary applications,
but it's too easy to stretch it or bend it beyond the radius of curvature
limits. The people who install our fiber optic links put up warning signs
with a drawing of a hangman's noose, implying what will happen to anybody
who tries to move the equipment. :-)

Does anybody (the phone companies or the military, for instance) use 
fiber optic cable that's stiff enough to reduce the risk of breaking?

John Roberts
roberts@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov