Spinoff: Computer Technology

Technologies Render Views of Earth for Virtual Navigation

NASA Technology

On a December night in 1995, 159 passengers and crewmembers died when American Airlines Flight 965 flew into the side of a mountain while...

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources

Rocket Engine Innovations Advance Clean Energy

NASA Technology

During launch countdown, at approximately T-7 seconds, the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) roar to life. When the controllers indicate normal operation, the solid...

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources

Catalyst Substrates Remove Contaminants, Produce Fuel

NASA Technology

“A spacecraft is the ultimate tight building. We don’t want any leaks, and there is very little fresh air coming in,” says Jay Perry, an aerospace...

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources

Analyzers Provide Water Security in Space and on Earth

NASA Technology

Resourcefulness is a key quality for living in space, and on the International Space Station (ISS), that means making the most of water...

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources

Coating Processes Boost Performance of Solar Cells

NASA Technology

NASA currently has spacecraft orbiting Mercury (MESSENGER), imaging the asteroid Vesta (Dawn), roaming the red plains of Mars (the Opportunity...

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources

Receivers Gather Data for Climate, Weather Prediction

NASA Technology

Signals from global positioning system (GPS) satellites are now being used for more than just location and navigation information. By...

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources

Remediation Technologies Eliminate Contaminants

NASA Technology

All research and development has a story behind it, says Jacqueline Quinn, environmental engineer at Kennedy Space Center. For Quinn, one such...

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources

Analyzers Measure Greenhouse Gasses, Airborne Pollutants

NASA Technology

In complete darkness, a NASA observatory waits. When an eruption of boiling water billows from a nearby crack in the ground, the...

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources

World Wind Tools Reveal Environmental Change

NASA Technology

“Who has more satellite data than NASA?” asks Patrick Hogan.

The question is a rhetorical one. After dozens of Earth-observing satellite launches and...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Thermal Components Boost Performance of HVAC Systems

NASA Technology

As the International Space Station (ISS) travels 17,500 miles per hour, normal is having a constant sensation of free-falling. Normal is no rain, but an...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Monitors Track Vital Signs for Fitness and Safety

NASA Technology

Have you ever felt nauseous reading a book in the back seat of a car? Or woken from a deep sleep feeling disoriented, unsure which way is up? Momentary mixups...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

NASA Missions Inspire Online Video Games

NASA Technology

Fast forward to 2035. Imagine being part of a community of astronauts living and working on the Moon. Suddenly, in the middle of just another day in space, a meteorite...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Retrofits Convert Gas Vehicles into Hybrids

NASA Technology

Successful space missions can rarely be attributed to a single thing. Rather, they are the result of a system of systems: integrated elements functioning effectively in...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Software Programs Derive Measurements from Photographs

NASA Technology

Even under the most unfortunate circumstances, NASA continues on a path of innovation. After the Space Shuttle Columbia reentered the atmosphere on February...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Control Algorithms Charge Batteries Faster

NASA Technology

On March 29, 2011, NASA’s Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft beamed a milestone image to Earth: the first photo of...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Alloy-Enhanced Fans Maintain Fresh Air in Tunnels

NASA Technology

The Partnership for Next Generation Vehicles (PNGV) is not a NASA initiative to develop powerful new rockets and spacecraft, even though it may sound like one....

Spinoff: Public Safety

High-Pressure Systems Suppress Fires in Seconds

NASA Technology

Much deserved attention is given to the feats of innovation that allow humans to live in space and robotic explorers to beam never-before- seen images back to...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Imaging Systems Provide Maps for U.S. Soldiers

NASA Technology

Spanning nearly four decades, the remarkable Landsat program has continuously provided data about the Earth’s surface, including detailed maps of vegetation, land...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Information Systems Coordinate Emergency Management

NASA Technology

The rescue crews have been searching for the woman for nearly a week. Hurricane Katrina devastated Hancock County, the southernmost point in Mississippi, and...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Simulation Tools Model Icing for Aircraft Design

NASA Technology

Here’s a simple science experiment to try: Place an unopened bottle of distilled water in your freezer. After 2–3 hours, if the water is pure enough, you will...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Modified Fittings Enhance Industrial Safety

NASA Technology

Kennedy Space Center is not only home to one of the largest buildings in the world—the massive Vehicle Assembly Building—it also hosts a number of one-of-a-kind...

Spinoff: Transportation

Fly-by-Wire Systems Enable Safer, More Efficient Flight

NASA Technology

In 1961, not long after NASA received the imperative from President John F. Kennedy to land a man on the Moon within the decade, then-NASA administrator...

Spinoff: Transportation

Modeling Programs Increase Aircraft Design Safety

NASA Technology

“Flutter” may sound like a benign word when associated with a flag in a breeze, a butterfly, or seaweed in an ocean current. When used in the context of...

Spinoff: Transportation

Advisory Systems Save Time, Fuel for Airlines

NASA Technology

Heinz Erzberger never thought the sky was falling, but he knew it could benefit from enhanced traffic control. Throughout the 1990s, Erzberger led a team at Ames...

Spinoff: Transportation

Integrated Design Tools Reduce Risk, Cost

NASA Technology

As NASA designs new spacecraft for its science missions and begins designs for the next generation of human spaceflight vehicles, it also works to revolutionize Earth’s...

Spinoff: Transportation

Cameras Improve Navigation for Pilots, Drivers

NASA Technology

After 10 months of traveling through deep space to Mars, the Phoenix Lander finally approached its destination. The last 7 minutes of the spacecraft’s 423...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Frameworks Coordinate Scientific Data Management

NASA Technology

Voyager 2 sailing beyond the far boundary of the solar system. The rover Opportunity churning across the red soil of Mars. Cassini-Huygens imaging the moons of...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Mass Analyzers Facilitate Research on Addiction

NASA Technology

The famous “go/no go” command for Space Shuttle launches comes from a place called the Firing Room. Located at Kennedy Space Center in the Launch Control Center...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Protein Innovations Advance Drug Treatments, Skin Care

NASA Technology

Dan Carter carefully layered the sheets of tracing paper on the light box. On each sheet were renderings of the atomic components of an essential human...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Ventilator Technologies Sustain Critically Injured Patients

NASA Technology

Consider this scenario: A soldier has been critically wounded in a sudden firefight in a remote region of Afghanistan. The soldier’s comrades attend...