Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 08:39:01 06/13/99
Today's paper had an interesting article on NASA 'spin-offs'. Since some
thought that NASA represented 'wasted spending' I thought I would point out
just a "few" of the documented 1,200 commercialized 'spin-offs'...
1. smoke detectors, developed for skylab/spacestation.
2. cordless tools were developed by black and decker under a NASA contract.
3. water filters (the kind on the kitchen faucet, etc) for the space
program to recycle water products.
4. newer home insulation materials with higher R-values.
5. battery testers on the package/battery
6. A new bathtub faucet using 'memory metal' technology to prevent filling a
tub with dangerously hot water.
7. A memory metal called "zeemet" used in golf clubs and other metal devices
that have to endure 'impact' and then return to their original shape/form.
8. flame-retardent fabrics
9. sunglasses that block blue and UV radiation.
10. pens that write upside down.
11. semiconductors (miniaturization)
12. digital image technology
13. satellite communication
14. airplane collision-avoidance radar
15. devices to prevent aircraft wing icing
16. fiberglas fabric such as that used to cover the Georgia Dome in atlanta.
17. lightweight plastic used in airplane seats, football helmets and shoulder
pads was developed at Ames.
18. cool suits (water flowing thru them) used by race car drivers and people
working in very hot environments.
19. the shiny 'thermal' metal blankets used in all survival kits today.
20. CAT scan algorithms came from NASA signal processing/space observation
programs.
21. Hubble technology has improved early breast cancer detection.
there are another 1179 _documented_ spinoffs, plus thousands more that were not
documented by NASA/fed government.
I think most would agree that _all_ of the above have added to the quality of
life...
And that money invested in NASA returned a lot more than money invested in
(say) foreign aid, which is _far_ more than the money ever spent on NASA.
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