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 2012 USSF HoF inductees is an example of the latter, the “Flexible Aerogel Insulating System.”
“Flexible aerogels were originally developed to serve as a barrier to the extreme temperatures that occur during rocket launches and that affect spacecraft as they are exposed to both high heat and severe cold. Because the initial silica aerogels were fragile and expensive, NASA contracted with James Fesmire, senior principal investigator of the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center, and the startup company Aspen Systems Inc. to produce affordable and easy-to-use aerogel composite blankets for space applications.
Aspen Aerogels continued its development of the product to produce three variations – Cryogel, Pyrogel and Spaceloft – that are now used in industrial, construction, refrigeration, automotive, medical and commercial applications. The leading provider in the United States, Aspen Aerogels produces nearly 20 million square feet of the material per year for extreme environments on Earth and in space.”
Early aerogels were used on the Stardust mission to capture debris shed from a comet, and aerogels are presently under study for use in capturing orbiting debris.
THANK YOU, NASA!
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.
TECH TRANSFER LINKS AND OTHER INFO
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