Spinoff 2005
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
SPINOFF Innovative Partnerships Program Developed by Publications and Graphics Department 2005 NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI) Spinoff developments highlighted in this publication are based on information provided by secondary users of aerospace technology, individuals, and manufacturing concerns who acknowledge that aerospace technology contributed wholly or in part to development of the product or process described. NASA cannot accept responsibility or liability for the misinterpretation or misrepresentation of the enclosed information by third party use. Publication herein does not constitute NASA endorsement of the National Aeronautics and product or process, nor confirmation of manufacturers’ performance claims related to Space Administration the particular spinoff development. 2 Table of Contents 3 Foreword Water and Air Measures That Make ‘PureSense’ ......................................68 4 Introduction Remote Sensing for Farmers and Flood Watching ....................................72 Pesticide-Free Device a Fatal Attraction for Mosquitoes ...........................74 5 Partnership Benefits Making the Most of Waste Energy ...........................................................76 Health and Medicine Washing Away the Worries About Germs ................................................78 Lighting the Way for Quicker, Safer Healing .............................................6 Computer Technology Discovering New Drugs on the Cellular Level ............................................8 Celestial Software Scratches More Than the Surface .................................80 Transportation A Search Engine That’s Aware of Your Needs ..........................................82 Hydrogen Sensors Boost Hybrids; Today’s Models Losing Gas? ...............10 Fault-Detection Tool Has Companies ‘Mining’ Own Business ................84 3-D Highway in the Sky ..........................................................................12 Software to Manage the Unmanageable ...................................................86 Popping a Hole in High-Speed Pursuits ...................................................14 Tracking Electromagnetic Energy With SQUIDs ....................................88 Monitoring Wake Vortices for More Efficient Airports ............................16 Taking the Risk Out of Risk Assessment .................................................90 From Rockets to Racecars ........................................................................18 Satellite and Ground System Solutions at Your Fingertips ........................92 Public Safety Structural Analysis Made ‘NESSUSary’ ...................................................94 Software of Seismic Proportions Promotes Enjoyable Learning ................96 All-Terrain Intelligent Robot Braves Battlefront to Save Lives ..................20 Keeping the Air Clean and Safe—An Anthrax Smoke Detector ................22 Industrial Productivity/Manufacturing Technology Lightning Often Strikes Twice .................................................................24 Technology That’s Ready and Able to Inspect Those Cables ....................26 Making a Reliable Actuator Faster and More Affordable ..........................98 Secure Networks for First Responders and Special Forces .........................30 Cost-Cutting Powdered Lubricant .........................................................100 NASA’s Radio Frequency Bolt Monitor: A Lifetime of Spinoffs .............102 Consumer/Home/Recreation Going End to End to Deliver High-Speed Data .....................................104 Space Suit Spins ......................................................................................32 Advanced Joining Technology: Simple, Strong, and Secure ....................106 Cooking Dinner at Home—From the Office ...........................................36 Big Results From a Smaller Gearbox ......................................................107 Nanoscale Materials Make for Large-Scale Applications ...........................38 Low-Pressure Generator Makes Cleanrooms Cleaner .............................108 NASA’s Growing Commitment: The Space Garden ................................40 The Space Laser Business Model ............................................................110 Bringing Thunder and Lightning Indoors ................................................42 Forty-Year-Old Foam Springs Back With New Benefits ...........................46 112 Research and Development at NASA Experiments With Small Animals Rarely Go This Well… .......................50 Space Operations ..................................................................................113 NASA, the Fisherman’s Friend ................................................................52 Exploration Systems ............................................................................121 Crystal-Clear Communication a Sweet-Sounding Success ........................54 Science ...................................................................................................124 Inertial Motion-Tracking Technology for Virtual 3-D .............................58 Aeronautics Research .........................................................................131 Environment and Resources Management 135 Education News at NASA Then Why Do They Call Earth the Blue Planet? ......................................62 140 Partnership Successes Valiant ‘Zero-Valent’ Effort Restores Contaminated Grounds .................64 Harnessing the Power of the Sun .............................................................66 153 Technology Transfer Network and Affiliations 3 Foreword n January 14, 2004, President George W. Bush their kitchen appliances and begin cooking dinner announced the Vision for Space Exploration, before they get home. Ogiving the National Aeronautics and Space • space suit technology used in the production of lighter- Administration (NASA) a new and historic focus and than-air vehicles, such as blimps and dirigibles, during clear objectives. pharmaceutical manufacturing and the production of The fundamental goal of the Vision is “...to advance gas masks for military and civilian use. U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests through • a prototype of the Mars Exploration Rover that is a robust space exploration program.” In issuing this being used in Afghanistan and Iraq to help U.S. troops directive, the President committed the Nation to return clear caves and bunkers, search buildings, cross live human explorers to the Moon by the end of the next antipersonnel mine fields, and deal with the dangers decade, and to prepare for the exploration of Mars that posed by improvised explosive devices. will follow. NASA is now working hard to develop a new • lightning-detection devices used on NASA’s launch generation of spacecraft and space launch vehicles that will pads at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida that enable the achievement of these goals within the modest are now being used to pinpoint lightning strikes expenditure of tax revenues—on average, $55 per year for at airports. every American citizen—that our Nation invests in space • a powerful lubricant designed for use in turbomachinery exploration and research. that is now being widely used in industry. Michael D. Griffin As we continue to explore the universe, I am confident • a filter designed for use on satellites being used to clean that NASA’s pioneering exploration activities will keep the air breathed by racecar drivers. Administrator fueling American creativity, innovation, and technology National Aeronautics and Space Administration These innovations demonstrate that a vigorous space development. Indeed, throughout the Agency’s history, exploration program has and will continue to provide technologies developed to advance our exploration the American public with an impressive technological missions have boosted economic progress and benefited return on investment. Although technological spinoffs millions of people here on Earth. are ancillary benefits of NASA’s exploration activities, Spinoff 2005 highlights NASA’s work, consistent and not the chief reason for doing what we do, they are with our Agency’s charter, to “research, develop, verify, tangible and benefit the country. and transfer advanced aeronautics, space, and related technologies.” Among the beneficial NASA-derived technologies featured in Spinoff 2005 now utilized in the commercial and public sector are: • a bacterial spore-detection unit designed to sterilize Mars-bound spacecraft that can also recognize anthrax and other harmful spore-forming bacteria. • a remote command and control system NASA uses to run experiments on the International Space Station that allows people to use a cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or Internet connection to activate 4 Introduction s we begin our journey to establish a sustained information from diverse backgrounds to help transfer the human presence in the solar system, we continue technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace. They Ato be excited by the technical challenges NASA are the experts with the technical and business acumen faces today. NASA Administrator, Michael Griffin, put it needed to bring these industry partnerships to fruition. best when he said, “The President’s directive for the Vision When the combination of NASA and industry for Space Exploration gave all of us who are privileged technology culminates in new uses for technologies, to work in this business a challenge bold enough to last