From heart pumps to Tang, NASA spurred innovations

[Rick Mulligan]

Cape Canaveral, Florida - Advocates of the US space programme often point to innovations based on technology first used in space - from inventions that made possible health technologies like the heart pump to foods eaten in space that took off on Earth, such as Tang powdered drink mix.

A hall of fame has even been established to recognize particularly note-worthy developments.

As NASA retires the space shuttle later this year and places more of an emphasis on the commercial spaceflight, the German Press Agency dpa takes a look at some technologies that have emerged from the space programme.

<#> - Satellite technology: Satellite technology is now used in such everyday events as television broadcasting, mobile phones and global positioning systems.

- Cochlear implants: A NASA engineer developed the device that is implanted in the ear of deaf patients and sends electrical pulses that allow the patient to hear. He used technology learned as an engineer at the Kennedy Space Centre to design the device for his own hearing problem.

- Food preservation: As part of studies done on growing food in space during a 1995 shuttle mission, scientists developed a device that removes the gas ethylene from the air. The gas speeds the ripening of foods, causing them to decay sooner. The technology is now marketed as an air purification device and is in use in supermarkets, food making facilities, floral shops and health care centres.

- 'Lifeshears': This rescue tool, also known by the brand name Jaws of Life, is used by police and fire departments to cut people out of wrecked cars. It uses the same hydraulic power that causes the shuttle to shed its rocket boosters after launch.

- Cancer screening: The stereotactic breast biopsy system that zones that guides a doctor's tools directly to a tumour to see if it is cancerous was developed from advanced digital camera technology used in the Hubble Space Telescope.

- Temper foam: The body shaping foam used in space shuttle seats has acquired broad commercial uses, including sports helmets and mattresses.

- Grooved pavement: The grooves in pavement were developed by NASA to prevent hydroplaning on runways and are now used at commercial airports as well as the Kennedy Space Centre's landing strip. The technique has since been widely applied to highways as well.

- Motor sport: The same material used to make the heat shield on the shuttle has been applied to NASCAR racing cars to protect the drivers from excessive heat.

- Robotics: Robots similar to the Mars rovers have been put to use by military and police to scan dangerous situations without risking human life as well as to disable bombs.

- Scratch resistant lenses: Now commonly used in eyeglasses, the technology was first used in astronaut helmets.

- Cordless tools: Tool and small appliance maker Black and Decker developed these battery-operated tools for use by astronauts on the moon.

- Heart defibrillators: The power source used to provide the shock in the medical device was originally developed for space lasers.

- Remote medical monitoring system: A kit system used to remotely monitor patients was developed in part for use on the International Space Station.

- Demining device: Using extra solid rocket propellant from the shuttle, a company developed a low-cost flare to safely clear landmines.

Read more: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/sc...#ixzz0harIte6M