BENEFITS OF SPACE EXLORATION: TECH TRANSFER NEWS

NASA’s Technology Transfer Mission: Since NASA’s inception in 1958, it has transferred the knowledge and technology it developed to commercial and other organizations! 

Technology Transfer Office: NASA has for decades maintained a Technology Transfer Office to promote and manage the “transfer of NASA technology to promote the commercialization and public availability of Federally-owned inventions to benefit the national economy and the U.S. public.” Unlike spin-offs, where the new application was not envisioned at the time the technology was developed, tech transfer was usually planned for as part of the development process. In some cases, NASA partnered with outside entities to develop technology that would have both NASA and non-NASA uses from the get-go.

U.S. Space Foundation Technology Hall of Fame

Long-time recipients may remember that I have showcased the USSF Tech Hall of Fame items in the past in Air and Space this Week. The USSF recently altered their website to make how I’ve been showing HoF entries less convenient, but I still want to show important and sometimes-unexpected examples of technology developed initially for NASA’s that wound up with valuable unrelated commercial uses when the technology is transferred to the private sector. 

Sometimes new technology has applications unforeseen by its developers. Sometimes the applications were known ahead of time and guided the development process, sometimes an unexpected application will arise. The first of the two 2011 USSF HoF inductees is an example of the former, “Intrifuge CellXpansion.”

“For decades, medical researchers have taken advantage of the unique aspects of microgravity to develop or grow materials that cannot be made on Earth. For example, cell cultures grown on Earth are only two-dimensional because gravity causes the cells to sink within their growth medium, whereas normal cells grow three-dimensionally in the body. In the 1980s, NASA researchers studying this phenomenon had to halt their work when the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy grounded the Shuttle fleet, thus blocking access to the microgravity of space. As an alternate, they developed a device called the “rotating wall bioreactor” to grow human cells in simulated weightlessness.

“Today, the bioreactor device is manufactured for commercial sale by Synthecon, Inc. This technology uses a rotating chamber to rapidly cultivate three-dimensional tissues that closely approximate those in the human body. On Earth, this technology provides a fast, affordable source of cells for therapy and research. In space, the output is even faster and more precise.” NASA research led directly to this technology, which is helping to treat cardio-vascular problems, diabetes, and other medical issues.

THANK YOU, NASA!

TECH TRANSFER LINKS AND OTHER INFO

NASA Software Available for Business and Public Use: The public can now download NASA computational innovations originally designed to support its missions. To find out more, and to access NASA’s catalog of available software, see: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-software-benefits-earth-available-for-business-public-use.

NASA Office of Chief Technologist, Technology Transfer, and Spinoffs: Website closed down

https://spinoff.nasa.gov/pdf/AIAA%202011%20Quantifying%20Spinoff%20Benefits.pdf

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/new_interactive_website_homeandcity

Introduction: https://technology.nasa.gov/network

T2 Portal: https://technology.nasa.gov

NASA Software Catalog: https://software.nasa.gov

NASA Patent Portfolio: https://technology.nasa.gov/patents

JPL Tech Transfer Office: https://ott.jpl.nasa.gov

NASA Scientific and Technical Information Program: https://sti.nasa.gov