Abstract-Optical fiber connectors have been used for the past fifteen years in space application. Reviewing the heritage left from past and current mission, the status of ESCC standards for these components and assemblies will help future use of fiber in space applications.In the frame of the ESA ECI program, Diamond has evaluated and is currently qualifying according to ESCC standards the AVIM and Mini-AVIM connectors. The configuration retained to qualify the connector sets is using a polarization maintaining fiber at 1550nm with a loose tube in PEEK as cable structure.The evaluation has been used to step-stress specific characteristics of the optical fiber connectors with a particular aim at possible failure modes to establish a safety factor for the qualification. The evaluation results presented can be used on a case by case to evaluate special applications that would require to extend the specification.The qualification components can be extended further and a structure for assemblies is proposed in order to simplify fiber optics implementation in space projects.

The ESCC has published new optical fiber connectors standards destined to simplify procurement of such components. A summary presentation is given, but more importantly, how to use them, the lesson learned from Diamond's perspective is presented. The latter cover the fiber lot management, the radiation and a few other parameters necessary for projects.Three main application categories are presented: A) Generic-Sensing, B) Satellite external communication, C) Satellite internal communication. Their products range and covered solution is presented, with potential new development proposedThe Basic Specification purpose is to define the tests necessary to find the failure modes in various environments (temperature, vibration, vacuum, etc.) and to derive the qualification specification.Any new configuration variant changing enough the product might have to be submitted to all or a portion of the tests described in this standards.All new product should be submitted to the entire program, with the same scope in mind: finding failure modes.

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