Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology

High-Temperature Coatings Offer Energy Savings

NASA Technology

The U.S. X-Plane Program included the first-of-its-kind research in aerodynamics and astronautics with experimental vehicles, including the first...

Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology

Materials Advance Chemical Propulsion Technology

NASA Technology

In the future, the Planetary Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate hopes to use better-performing and lower-cost propulsion...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Burnishing Techniques Strengthen Hip Implants

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

When compressed air mixes with jet fuel and is ignited in a turbine engine, the temperature can reach 3,000 °F. As a result of this fiery...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Signal Processing Methods Monitor Cranial Pressure

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

When you think of a beating heart, you might assume it beats at regular intervals, but in actuality, velocity and pressure change with...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Hyperspectral Systems Increase Imaging Capabilities

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

While the human eye can see a range of phenomena in the world, there is a larger range that it cannot see. Without the aid of...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Ultraviolet-Blocking Lenses Protect, Enhance Vision

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

In the 1980s, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientists James Stephens and Charles Miller were studying the harmful properties of...

Spinoff: Transportation

Programs Model the Future of Air Traffic Management

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Try describing the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS), and you will inevitably end up rattling off a series of large numbers. There...

Spinoff: Transportation

Tail Rotor Airfoils Stabilize Helicopters, Reduce Noise

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Given the eye-catching nature of space shuttle launches, deep-space imagery, and Mars exploration, it can be easy to forget...

Spinoff: Transportation

Personal Aircraft Point to the Future of Transportation

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

In the late 1970s, general aviation (GA) in the United States was experiencing its heyday. In 1978, as many as 18,000 GA aircraft...

Spinoff: Transportation

Ducted Fan Designs Lead to Potential New Vehicles

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

From the myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the Sun on wings made of wax, to the designs Leonardo da Vinci drew of flying machines...

Spinoff: Transportation

Winglets Save Billions of Dollars in Fuel Costs

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Anyone who has made a paper airplane knows that folding the wingtips upward makes your plane look better and fly farther, though the...

Spinoff: Transportation

Sensor Systems Collect Critical Aerodynamics Data

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

The next time you blow out a candle, watch how the smoke behaves. You will see that it rises first in an even stream. At a certain point,...

Spinoff: Transportation

Coatings Extend Life of Engines and Infrastructure

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Every time a jet engine is started, it goes through a thermal cycle of extreme temperatures, reaching as high as 2,700 °F within the...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Radiometers Optimize Local Weather Prediction

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

One of the greatest dangers to aircraft—playing a role in numerous destructive and fatal accidents around the world—comes in the form of...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Rocket-Powered Parachutes Rescue Entire Planes

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

When Boris Popov was 8 years old, he took one of his mother’s sheets and some thread, made a parachute, climbed a tree, and jumped. The...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Energy-Efficient Systems Eliminate Icing Danger for UAVs

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

One of the more remarkable developments in aviation in recent years has been the increasing deployment of unmanned aerial...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Technologies Advance UAVs for Science, Military

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Greek mythology tells of the inventor Daedalus using wings of his own fashioning to escape from imprisonment on the island of Crete. In...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Inflatable Antennas Support Emergency Communication

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Space exploration requires reliable and efficient communication technology. One device currently under development is the inflatable...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Smart Sensors Assess Structural Health

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

The materials used to make airplanes and space shuttles do not last forever. That is why NASA frequently inspects launch vehicles, fuel tanks, crew...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Hand-Held Devices Detect Explosives and Chemical Agents

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Smaller, with enhanced capabilities. Less expensive, while providing improved performance. Energy efficient, without sacrificing...

Spinoff: Public Safety

Terahertz Tools Advance Imaging for Security, Industry

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

On January 16, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia launched on mission STS-107. At T plus 82 seconds, with the orbiter rocketing...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

LED Systems Target Plant Growth

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Living in space long term will require a sustainable environment. Plants provide fresh food, clean air, and clean water that will assist this effort, but...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Aerogels Insulate Against Extreme Temperatures

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

“When you hold a piece of silica aerogel, it feels otherworldly. If you drop it on a table top, it has an acoustic ring to it. It sounds...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Image Sensors Enhance Camera Technologies

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Buzz Aldrin standing on the stark surface of the Moon. The towering gas pillars of the Eagle Nebula. The rocky, rust-colored expanses of Mars....

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Lightweight Material Patches Allow for Quick Repairs

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Here on Earth, if your sink springs a leak, you can call in a plumber, or if you’re handy, you can head out to the local hardware...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Nanomaterials Transform Hairstyling Tools

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Dr. Dennis Morrison, a former scientist at Johnson Space Center, spent part of his 34-year career with NASA performing research on...

Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Do-It-Yourself Additives Recharge Auto Air Conditioning

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Even though it drops to -279 °F at night and dips to -400 °F inside its deepest craters, the Moon can reach a scorching 260 °F...

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources

Systems Analyze Water Quality in Real Time

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

If you are planning a day at your local park or even a weekend camping trip, you would simply pack all the food, drink, and supplies you need....

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources

Compact Radiometers Expand Climate Knowledge

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

NASA not only peers up to gather information about space; it also peers down to gather information about Earth. As part of the Science Mission...