Posted on 02/02/2003 3:42:54 PM PST by Pokey78
The loss of the US space shuttle Columbia has renewed debate about the future of space exploration, with many suggesting that manned space missions pose an “unacceptable risk”. To which a considered response might be: go paint it on the wall of your cave.
All attempts at discovery involve risk. It is in the nature of experiments and breaking new ground that nobody knows exactly what will happen. There is no such thing as a free ride to the future, and the path of progress has often proved steep and bloody. The alternative, however, is to hang around at the bottom.
The great naval explorers took their lives in their hands to sail the unknown world, at a time when doom-mongers declared that they would fall off the edge of the flat Earth. Marie Curie, whose experiments with radioactivity led to treatment for cancer but also killed her, is only the most famous self-sacrificing scientist.
According to one American authority, with two catastrophic failures in 113 missions the space shuttle mission has a success rate of 98 per cent. Yet the risk of rocket travel cannot be eliminated. As the professor puts it: “You’re riding a stick of dynamite into space. We know how to do that, but sticks of dynamite can explode.” The seven astronauts who died when Columbia exploded were aware of the risks. They considered those risks worth taking to further causes in which they believed.
Yet society seems increasingly uncomfortable with risk and uncertainty. Ours is a cautious, risk-averse, blame-and-claim culture. Never mind Marie Curie; many now consider it unacceptable to sacrifice so much as a monkey or a mouse for medical science.
In 1969 the Moon landing was celebrated as a high point of human achievement. Now the astronauts are accused of polluting or raping the Moon — or worse, faking the whole thing. In a debate on the problems of space exploration at the Royal Society in London last October, one British expert noted that, when Columbus left Portugal in search of the New World, his patrons at least knew that if he didn’t come back “nobody was going to sue anybody”.
When the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, President Ronald Reagan declared that the space programme would not falter. “It is all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons,” Reagan said. “The future doesn’t belong to the faint-hearted. It belongs to the brave.” Despite these bold words, no space shuttle flew for almost three years, and newer, bigger missions stalled. After the loss of the Columbia, President George W. Bush, too, spoke about how space exploration must go on, led by “the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand”. It remains to be seen what those words mean in practice. Bush’s attempt to depict the Old Testament prophet Isaiah as a pioneer of space exploration does not fill some of us with confidence.
Wider reactions to the Columbia disaster illustrate a powerful mood of pessimism and anti-exploration. Long before we knew what had caused the explosion, everybody began sky-writing instant interpretations of its “deeper meaning” in the space where Columbia should have been, projecting their own prejudices on to the wreckage.
Among the “I-told-you-so” tendency there are signs of some almost revelling in the tragedy. Soon after Columbia exploded, Canadian television was reportedly discussing whether the mission was another sign of American “arrogance” and “overconfidence” in the run-up to war with Iraq. One liberal British newspaper’s Washington correspondent linked the disaster to the attacks of September 11. “The empire is not invincible,” he wrote. “America builds the tallest buildings in the world but they got knocked down. America conquers the heavens, but the spacecraft fragments into fiery shards, incinerating a crew travelling at six times the speed of sound.” Presumably such people would be happier if Americans limited their horizons to building bungalows and flying a kite.
The sustained campaign to talk down aspirations and talk up risks has affected public perceptions, encouraging many to react defensively to the loss of Columbia. On Sunday The New York Times noted that “for Americans already grappling with a confluence of threatening events, the instinctive reaction was ‘What next?’” American television coverage of Columbia mixed up a confused cocktail of references — to September 11, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, Israel, the Holocaust — that seemed to reinforce the notion of an uncertain nation feeling itself under siege, topped off by reports of “toxic” debris raining from the skies “like a scene from The War of the Worlds”.
As our American friends might say, let’s get real. This is about a fatal accident during a space flight. There is no need to burden the tragedy with all our petty prejudices. From what little we know, the Columbia disaster looks less like a symptom of arrogance than of a lack of ambition, of trying to run a space exploration programme on the (relatively) cheap using outdated technology.
The priority now should be to work out how best to push further and faster into space. Even some pro-exploration scientists are suggesting limits on manned space flights, claiming that the science could be done with less risk by robots. But even if there really were no scientific reason for sending people into space, it would still be important that they boldly go to, say, Mars, to revive the flagging spirit of exploration.
Our attitude to space matters most as a reflection of how we see ourselves on Earth. If that makes a positive response to Columbia important in America, it is more urgent in Britain, where we apparently don’t have enough true grit to keep a motorway free of snow. We are in danger of creating a world where, while only a few of us are in the gutter, none of us is looking at the stars.
Try reading post #65
Wow, all those government labs, wasted dollars, usless inventions, and usless knowlege.
Like only government research yields anything? Government research is the worst kind because it is so inefficient (ever seen 4 county employees changing the light bulb in a traffic light?)
Either by accident or design somehow you managed to completely miss my point. I'll try and re-state it again in a different way:
Dollars are going to be spent on research. If the government confiscates tax money and spends it on what it's bureaucrats feel important to keep themselves at the public trough it distorts the market in research. By taking the confiscated money you probably aren't working on what the public wants, but only on what some committee of bureaucrats wants. By accepting plundered money rather than money that was offered as part of a mutually beneficial transaction between the party with the money and the one who wants to earn it, you are accepting forced wealth transfer. Another name for forced wealth transfer is welfare. I don't care how you tout the "benefits" of government research. It's all done with money that was forceably extracted from those who earned it.
If you can choose which government to live under, does this make you a Free man or woman? Even if the choices are communism, tribalism, or facism.
As long as people/corporations chose where to allocate their resources this is free market. When the government uses its police powere to demand that resources be spent on thing that the people wouldn't chose, this is the antithesis of free market.
There is little difference between corporate America and government. Look at the board of directors for several large companies... most of those bozos have served in gov't, and vice versa.
What is "legitimate government research?"
National defense, which includes significant parts of the space program.
I have to admit I don't see the relevance here. What does government have to do with the free market (other than repress it of course)?
There is little difference between corporate America and government.
Absolutely wrong. There is an enormous fundamental difference between corporations and government. This difference is that you don't have to pay for the services of a corporation. You can chose not to use or pay for the services of a corporation. You cannot chose not to pay for the services of government. You are compelled by threat of death to follow the directives of government and to pay for government services whether or not you use them (good racket).
Military R&D is legitimate government research. I just don't agree that manned space missions are legitimate military subjects.
I hardly think that the scientists and engineers employed by various governmental agencies can be considered "welfare" recipients...unless of course in your dotage you would care to refuse all benefits garnered from the space program.
Lacking any ability to reason doesn't seem to have impaired your ability to be a rude a$$hole does it? Until you stuck your big mouth into this debate it was reasonably polite. RadioAstronomer and I totally disagree, but at least we were doing it in a relatively polite manner. However since you apparently prefer this tone, so be it.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people on this, a supposedly conservative forum, have about the same grasp of economics and free market concepts as the average dimwit on DU. Many people here feel that central planning is OK at least for their pet desires.
just look at these links about the spin-offs for persons with disabilities from the space program.
I looked at the crap in that "article" (which appeared to be thinly disguised NASA propaganda.) I didn't see anything in there that was worth the billions and billions of dollars that NASA has frittered away over the last 30 years. And here is the point, so pay close attention because you probably won't understand it the first time you read it. If one twentieth of the money that was squandered by NASA had been spent directly on research to help the disabled, then there would have been far greater benefits to the disabled than the so-called "spin-off" from the space/NASA boondogle But, the money wasn't spent to help the disabled was it? It was spent as a wealth tranfer from the bulk of the taxpayers to the government employees of NASA and their fellow beneficiaries of government largesse, the aerospace companies.
I hardly think that the scientists and engineers employed by various governmental agencies can be considered "welfare" recipients
They are the beneficiaries of involuntary wealth transfer. They do not get paid because they do something that the persons supplying the money want done. They only do what the government bureaucrats who plundered the money from the taxpayers want. That they actually work, and some of them undoubtedly work hard, is irrelevant. They are welfare recipients.
It's like my sticking a gun to your head and the heads of everyone in your neighborhood and demanding 40% of your earnings (I'll play the role of the government) to pay for a crew (the crew will play the role of government funded researchers and aerospace industries) that digs holes in your lawn and then fills them in again. Yes, my crew works hard. They spend long hours digging deep into your lawn. There are fortunately rare accidents when a hole collapses and buries one of my crew. There are "spin-offs" in that we occasionally find a few worms that can be used for fishing. But on the whole, the work is of no benefit to you. It only benefits me and my crew. You and your neighborhood would be better off if me and my crew broke up and individually went around to find out what work you really wanted done and negotiated a mutually acceptable price for it. My crew would probably get paid less although the hard working ones would probably have employment of some sort, and I wouldn't get anything at all since there is very little demand (outside of government) for people whose talent is extorting money from you at gunpoint. Such is the nature of government funded research.
Of course all the computers would have to run on linux to be reliable
If we did this then Bill Gates wouldn't be interested. :-)
Best laugh of the day, especially as I envision you sitting at your computer in your shorts while wearing a ripped and dirty t-shirt, beer-gut bumping up against the keyboard, can o' Bud in one hand, and your huntin' dog at your feet. BTW, RA has a habit of being polite to everyone...especially when he shouldn't waste the time and effort. Fortunately, I am not so afflicted.
I looked at the crap in that "article" (which appeared to be thinly disguised NASA propaganda.) I didn't see anything in there that was worth the billions and billions of dollars that NASA has frittered away over the last 30 years.
The following is not for your edification...for I doubt you'd set down that can o' Bud long enough to consider each of these contributions...but for anyone else who is interested in how the Space Program has impacted our daily lives. This information is from this website:
"Some of the most frequently asked questions about the U.S. space program are "Why go into space when we have so many problems here on Earth?" and "What does the space program do for me?" These are legitimate questions and unfortunately not enough people have been made aware of the vast benefits the space program provides that increase the quality of our daily lives. Applications on Earth of technology needed for space flight have produced thousands of "spinoffs" that contribute to improving the national economy, productivity and lifestyle. It is almost impossible to find an area of everyday life that has not been improved by these spinoffs. Collectively, these secondary applications represent a substantial return on the national investment in aerospace research. We should be spending more."
"Out of a $1.5 trillion budget, less than 1% is spent on the entire space program! It has been conservatively estimated by U.S. space experts that for every dollar the U.S. spends on the space program, it receives $7 back in the form of corporate and personal income taxes from increased jobs and economic growth. Besides the obvious jobs created in the aerospace industry, thousands more are created by many other companies applying NASA technology in nonspace related areas that affect us daily. One cannot even begin to place a dollar value on the lives saved and improved lifestyles of the less fortunate. Space technology benefits everyone and a rising technological tide does raise all boats."
"One small example is the Hubble Space Telescope. Much maligned at first because of its flawed optics, it still produced better photographs than anything here on Earth. Once fixed, it has produced even more startling scientific data which we have only begun to understand and apply. One of the many spinoffs from the Hubble telescope is the use of its Charge Coupled Device (CCD) chips for digital imaging breast biopsies. The resulting device images breast tissue more clearly and efficiently than other existing technologies. The CCD chips are so advanced that they can detect the minute differences between a malignant or benign tumor without the need for a surgical biopsy. This saves the patient weeks of recovery time and the cost for this procedure is hundreds of dollars vs. thousands for a surgical biopsy. With over 500,000 women needing biopsies a year the economic benefit, per year, is tremendous and it greatly reduces the pain, scarring, radiation exposure, time, and money associated with surgical biopsies."
"Below is a "small" sampling of the many other ways that space technology has improved our lives and benefited mankind. It is truly a remarkable list and not nearly complete but I believe you will begin to appreciate the answers to "Why do we go in space" and "What does the space program do for me?" So the next time you hear these questions being asked, you will be able to explain it."
Computer Technology - NASA Spinoffs
GROUND PROCESSING SCHEDULING SYSTEM
- Computer-based scheduling system that uses artificial intelligence to manage thousands of overlapping activities involved in launch preparations of NASA's Space Shuttles. The NASA technology was licensed to a new company which developed commercial applications that provide real-time planning and optimization of manufacturing operations, integrated supply chains, and customer orders.
SEMICONDUCTOR CUBING
- NASA initiative led to the Memory Short Stack, a three-dimensional semiconductor package in which dozens of integrated circuits are stacked one atop another to form a cube, offering faster computer processing speeds, higher levels of integration, lower power requirements than conventional chip sets, and dramatic reduction in the size and weight of memory-intensive systems, such as medical imaging devices.
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
- This NASA program, originally created for spacecraft design, has been employed in a broad array of non-aerospace applications, such as the automobile industry, manufacture of machine tools, and hardware designs.
WINDOWS VISUAL NEWS READER (Win Vn)
- Software program developed to support payload technical documentation at Kennedy Space Center, allowing the exchange of technical information among a large group of users. WinVn is an enabling technology product that provides countless people with Internet access otherwise beyond their grasp, and it was optimized for organizations that have direct Internet access.
AIR QUALITY MONITOR
- Utilizing a NASA-developed, advanced analytical technique software package, an air quality monitor system was created, capable of separating the various gases in bulk smokestack exhaust streams and determining the amount of individual gases present within the stream for compliance with smokestack emission standards.
VIRTUAL REALITY
- NASA-developed research allows a user, with assistance from advanced technology devices, to figuratively project oneself into a computer-generated environment, matching the user's head motion, and, when coupled with a stereo viewing device and appropriate software, creates a telepresence experience.
Other spinoffs in this area include:
Advanced keyboards, Customer Service Software, Database Management System, Laser Surveying, Aircraft controls, Lightweight Compact Disc, Expert System Software, Microcomputers, and Design Graphics.
Consumer/Home/Recreation - NASA Spinoffs
ENRICHED BABY FOOD
- A microalgae-based, vegetable-like oil called Formulaid developed from NASA-sponsored research on long duration space travel, contains two essential fatty acids found in human milk but not in most baby formulas, believed to be important for infants' mental and visual development.
WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM
- NASA-developed municipal-size water treatment system for developing nations, called the Regenerable Biocide Delivery Unit, uses iodine rather than chlorine to kill bacteria.
SCRATCH-RESISTANT LENSES
- A modified version of a dual ion beam bonding process developed by NASA involves coating the lenses with a film of diamond-like carbon that not only provides scratch resistance, but also decreases surface friction, reducing water spots.
POOL PURIFICATION
- Space technology designed to sterilize water on long-duration spacecraft applied to swimming pool purification led to a system that uses two silver-copper alloy electrodes that generate silver and copper ions when an electric current passes through them to kill bacteria and algae without chemicals.
RIBBED SWIMSUIT
- NASA-developed riblets applied to competition swimsuits resulted in flume testing of 10 to 15 percent faster speeds than any other world class swim-suit due to the small, barely visible grooves that reduce friction and aerodynamic drag by modifying the turbulent airflow next to the skin.
GOLF BALL AERODYNAMICS
- A recently designed golf ball, which has 500 dimples arranged in a pattern of 60 spherical triangles, employs NASA aerodynamics technology to create a more symmetrical ball surface, sustaining initial velocity longer and producing a more stable ball flight for better accuracy and distance.
PORTABLE COOLERS/WARMERS
- Based on a NASA-inspired space cooling system employing thermoelectric technology, the portable cooler/warmer plugs into the cigarette lighters of autos, recreational vehicles, boats, or motel outlets. Utilizes one or two miniaturized modules delivering the cooling power of a 10-pound block of ice and the heating power of up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
SPORTS TRAINING
- Space-developed cardio-muscular conditioner helps athletes increase muscular strength and cardiovascular fitness through kinetic exercise.
ATHLETIC SHOES
- Moon Boot material encapsulated in running shoe midsoles improve shock absorption and provides superior stability and motion control.
Other spinoffs in this area include:
Dustbuster, shock-absorbing helmets, home security systems, smoke detectors, flat panel televisions, high-density batteries, trash compactors, food packaging and freeze-dried technology, cool sportswear, sports bras, hair styling appliances, fogless ski goggles, self-adjusting sunglasses, composite golf clubs, hang gliders, art preservation, and quartz crystal timing equipment.
Environmental and Resource Management - NASA Spinoffs
MICROSPHERES
- The first commercial products manufactured in orbit are tiny microspheres whose precise dimensions permit their use as reference standards for extremely accurate calibration of instruments in research and industrial laboratories. They are sold for applications in environmental control, medical research, and manufacturing.
SOLAR ENERGY
- NASA-pioneered photovoltaic power system for spacecraft applications was applied to programs to expand terrestrial applications as a viable alternative energy source in areas where no conventional power source exists.
WEATHER FORECASTING AID
- Space Shuttle environmental control technology led to the development of the Barorator which continuously measures the atmospheric pressure and calculates the instantaneous rate of change.
FOREST MANAGEMENT
- A NASA-initiated satellite scanning system monitors and maps forestation by detecting radiation reflected and emitted from trees.
SENSORS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
- NASA development of an instrument for use in space life support research led to commercial development of a system to monitor an industrial process stream to assure that the effluent water's pH level is in compliance with environmental regulations.
WIND MONITOR
- Development of Jimsphere wind measurement balloon for space launches allows for making high resolution measurements of the wind profile for meteorological studies and predictions.
TELEMETRY SYSTEMS
- A spinoff company formed to commercialize NASA high-data-rate telemetry technology, manufactures a high-speed processing system for commercial communications applications.
PLANT RESEARCH
- NASA research on future moon and Mars bases is investigating using plants for food, oxygen, and water to reduce the need for outside supplies. This research utilizes Hydroponics (liquid nutrient solutions) instead of soil to support plant growth and finds applications for vegetable production on Earth.
FIRE RESISTANT MATERIAL
- Materials include chemically-treated fabric for sheets, uniforms for hazardous material handlers, crew's clothing, furniture, interior walls of submersibles and auto racer and refueler suits.
RADIATION INSULATION
- Aluminized polymer film is highly effective radiation barrier for both manned and unmanned spacecraft. Variations of this space-devised material are also used as an energy conservation technique for homes and offices. The materials are placed between wall studs and exterior facing before siding or between roof support and roof sheathing. The radiant barrier blocks 95% of radiant energy. Successful retrofit installations include schools and shrink wrap ovens.
Other spinoffs in this area include:
Whale identification method, environmental analysis, noise abatement, pollution measuring devices, pollution control devices, smokestack monitor, radioactive leak detector, earthquake prediction system, sewage treatment, energy saving air conditioning, and air purification.
Health and Medicine - NASA Spinoffs
DIGITAL IMAGING BREAST BIOPSY SYSTEM
- The LORAD Stereo Guide Breast Biopsy system incorporates advanced Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs) as part of a digital camera system. The resulting device images breast tissue more clearly and efficiently. Known as stereotactic large-core needle biopsy, this nonsurgical system developed with Space Telescope Technology is less traumatic and greatly reduces the pain, scarring, radiation exposure, time, and money associated with surgical biopsies.
BREAST CANCER DETECTION
- A solar cell sensor is positioned directly beneath x-ray film, and determines exactly when film has received sufficient radiation and has been exposed to optimum density. Associated electronic equipment then sends a signal to cut off the x-ray source. Reduction of mammography x-ray exposure reduces radiation hazard and doubles the number of patient exams per machine.
LASER ANGIOPLASTY
- Laser angioplasty with a "cool" type of laser, caller an excimer laser, does not damage blood vessel walls and offers precise non-surgical cleanings of clogged arteries with extraordinary precision and fewer complications than in balloon angioplasty.
ULTRASOUND SKIN DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
- Advanced instrument using NASA ultrasound technology enables immediate assessment of burn damage depth, improving patient treatment, and may save lives in serious burn cases.
HUMAN TISSUE STIMULATOR
- Employing NASA satellite technology, the device is implanted in the body to help patient control chronic pain and involuntary motion disorders through electrical stimulation of targeted nerve centers or particular areas of the brain.
COOL SUIT
- Custom-made suit derived from space suits circulates coolant through tubes to lower patient's body/ temperature, producing dramatic improvement of symptoms of multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and other conditions.
PROGRAMMABLE PACEMAKER
- Incorporating multiple NASA technologies, the system consists of the implant and a physician's computer console containing the programming and a data printer. Communicates through wireless telemetry signals.
OCULAR SCREENING
- NASA image processing techniques are used to detect eye problems in very young children. An electronic flash from a 35-millimeter camera sends light into the child's eyes, and a photorefractor analyzes the retinal reflexes, producing an image of each eye.
AUTOMATED URINALYSIS
- NASA fluid dynamics studies helped development of system that automatically extracts and transfers sediment from urine sample to an analyzer microscope, replacing the manual centrifuge method.
MEDICAL GAS ANALYZER
- Astronaut-monitoring technology used to develop system to monitor operating rooms for analysis of anesthetic gasses and measurement of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen concentrations to assure proper breathing environment for surgery patients.
VOICE-CONTROLLED WHEELCHAIR
- NASA teleoperator and robot technology used to develop chair and manipulator that respond to 35 one-word voice commands utilizing a minicomputer to help patient perform daily tasks, like picking up packages, opening doors, and turning on appliances.
Other spinoffs in this area include:
Arteriosclerosis detection, ultrasound scanners, automatic insulin pump, portable x-ray device, invisible braces, dental arch wire, palate surgery technology, clean room apparel, implantable heart aid, MRI, bone analyzer, and cataract surgery tools.
Industrial Productivity/Manufacturing Technology - NASA Spinoffs
MAGNETIC LIQUIDS
- Based on the NASA-developed ferrofluid concept involving synthetic fluids that can be positioned and controlled by magnetic force, the ferrofluidic seal was initially applied in a zero-leakage, nonwearing seal for the rotating shaft of a system used to make semiconductor chips, solving persistent problem contamination due to leaking seals.
WELDING SENSOR SYSTEM
- Laser-based automated welder for industrial use incorporates a laser sensor system originally designed for Space Shuttle External Tank to track the seam where two pieces of metal are to be joined, measures gaps and minute misfits, and automatically corrects the welding torch distance and height.
MICROLASERS
- Based on a concept for optical communications over interplanetary distances, microlasers were developed for the commercial market to transmit communication signals and to drill, cut, or melt materials.
MAGNETIC BEARING SYSTEM
- Bearings developed from Space Shuttle designs support moving machinery without physical contact, permitting motion without friction or wear, and are now used in electric power generation, petroleum refining, machine tool operation, and natural gas pipelines.
ENGINE LUBRICANT
- A NASA-developed plasma-sprayed coating is used to coat valves in a new, ten-inch-long, four-cylinder rotary engine, eliminating the need for lubricating the rotorcam, which has no crankshaft, flywheel, distributor, or water pump.
INTERACTIVE COMPUTER TRAINING
- Known as Interactive Multimedia Training (IMT), originally developed to train astronauts and space operations personnel, now utilized by the commercial sector to train new employees and upgrade worker skills, using a computer system that engages all the senses, including text, video, animation, voice, sounds, and music.
HIGH-PRESSURE WATERSTRIPPING
- Technology developed for preparing Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters first evolved into the U.S. Air Force's Large Aircraft Robotic Paint Stripping (LARPS) system, and now used in the commercial airline industry, where the waterjet processing reduces coating removal time by 90 percent, using only water at ultra-high pressures up to 55,000 psi.
ADVANCED WELDING TORCH
- Based on the Variable Polarity Plasma Arc welding technology, a handheld torch originally developed for joining light alloys used in NASA's External Tank, is now used by major appliance manufacturers for sheet metal welding.
Other spinoffs in this area include:
Gasoline vapor recovery, self-locking fasteners, machine tool software, laser wire stripper, lubricant coating process, wireless communications, engine coatings, and engine design.
Public Safety - NASA Spinoffs
RADIATION HAZARD DETECTOR
- NASA technology has made commercially available new, inexpensive, conveniently carried device for protection of people exposed to potentially dangerous levels of microwave radiation. Weighing only 4 ounces and about the size of a cigarette pack, it can be carried in a shirt pocket or clipped to a belt. Unit sounds an audible alarm when microwave radiation reaches a preset level.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE ROBOT
- Remotely-operated robot reduces human injury levels by performing hazardous tasks that would otherwise be handled by humans.
PERSONAL ALARM SYSTEM
- Pen-sized ultrasonic transmitter used by prison guards, teachers, the elderly, and disabled to call for help is based on space telemetry technology. Pen transmits a silent signal to receiver that will display the exact location of the emergency.
EMERGENCY RESCUE CUTTERS
- Lightweight cutters for freeing accident victims from wreckage developed using NASA pyrotechnic technology.
FIREMAN'S AIR TANKS
- Lighter-weight firefighter's air tanks have been developed. New back-pack system weighs only 20 lbs. for 30 minute air supply, 13 lbs. less than conventional firefighting tanks. They are pressurized at 4,500 psia (twice current tanks). A warning device tells the fireman when he or she is running out of air.
PERSONAL STORM WARNING SYSTEM
- Lightning detector gives 30-minute warning to golfers, boaters, homeowners, business owners, and private pilots.
SELF-RIGHTING LIFE RAFT
- Developed for the Apollo program, fully inflates in 12 seconds and protects lives during extremely adverse weather conditions with self-righting and gravity compensation features.
Other spinoffs in this area include:
Storm warning services (Doppler radar), firefighters' radios, lead poison detection, fire detector, flame detector, corrosion protection coating, protective clothing, and robotic hands.
Transportation - NASA Spinoffs
STUDLESS WINTER TIRES
- Viking Lander parachute shroud material is adapted and used to manufacture radial tires, increasing the tire material's chainlike molecular structure to five times the strength of steel should increase tread life by 10,000 miles.
BETTER BRAKES
- New, high-temperature composite space materials provide for better brake linings. Applications includes trucks, industrial equipment and passenger cars.
TOLLBOOTH PURIFICATION
- A laminar airflow technique used in NASA clean rooms for contamination-free assembly of space equipment is used at tollbooths on bridges and turnpikes to decrease the toll collector's inhalation of exhaust fumes.
WEIGHT SAVING TECHNOLOGY
- NASA research on composite materials is used to achieve a 30-percent weight reduction in a twin-turbine helicopter, resulting in a substantial increase in aircraft performance.
IMPROVED AIRCRAFT ENGINE
- Multiple NASA developed technological advancements resulted in a cleaner, quieter, more economical commercial aircraft engine known as the high bypass turbofan, featuring a 10-percent reduction in fuel consumption, lower noise levels, and emission reductions of oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and unburned hydrocarbons.
ADVANCED LUBRICANTS
- An environmental-friendly lubricant designed to support the Space Shuttle Mobile Launcher Platform led to the development of three commercial lubricants for railroad track maintenance, for electric power company corrosion prevention, and as a hydraulic fluid with an oxidation life of 10,000 hours.
ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM
- The Flywheel Energy Storage system, derived from two NASA-sponsored energy storage studies, is a chemical-free, mechanical battery that harnesses the energy of a rapidly spinning wheel and stores it as electricity with 50 times the capacity of a lead-acid battery, very useful for electric vehicles.
NEW WING DESIGN FOR CORPORATE JETS
- NASA-developed computer programs resulted in an advanced, lighter, more aerodynamically-efficient new wing for Gulfstream business aircraft.
AIDS TO SCHOOL BUS DESIGN
- Manufacturer uses three separate NASA-developed technologies originally developed for aviation and space use in their design and testing of a new school bus chassis. These technologies are a structural analysis computer program infrared stress measurement system, and a ride quality meter system.
Other spinoffs in this area include:
Safer bridges, emission testing, airline wheelchairs, electric car, auto design, methane-powered vehicles, windshear prediction, and aircraft design analysis.
Now don't you feel like a silly arse? Nevermind...just pop another can o' Bud and keep whining about *needless* space expenditures.
KILLER SATELLITES... manned. We can learn more from these than any cheesy probe to a frozen rock!
Think about this... if the USA isn't around in 2200, your great-great grand children will be cooking over a campfire... not traveling to another galaxy!
We would be in Dark Age's II. Put that in your pipe.
I don't drink beer, keep the huntin dawgs under the porch, and generally jest balance the keyboard on my stomach. But that's OK; I envision you as a fat ugly skank who graduated from a two year community college, lives with a bunch of other losers , get high every weekend, and has a job in a department store in sales.
RA has a habit of being polite to everyone...especially when he shouldn't waste the time and effort. Fortunately, I am not so afflicted.
No you're no in the least afflicted with politeness, intelligence, wisdom or knowledge, but it has been my observation that the dumber the person is, the more oblivious to their own faults they are. You obviously think a lot of yourself, well I guess someone has to do it and I'm sure no one else is willing.
Now that we've gotten the obligatory flame which occasionally livens up a dull discussion sometimes, (and I see discussions with you are dull) out of the way. I knew that you wouldn't understand my point or if you did you'd simply ignore it to continue thumping your no doubt unappealizing chest. No matter how long the list of so-called NASA wonders is, it doesn't alter the fact that the money would have been better spent by the people who earned it, and no doubt the Russians could give an equally long list of the triumphs of central planning and like US central planning would be just as big a list of things that cost 100 times as much as they should. and things that shouldn't have been done in the first place I especially like the golf ball aerodynamics. Really enriched my life NOT. I wonder how much that cost? Probably didn't cost you very much because looking in my crystal ball I see that you're one of those "taxpayers" who pays almost no taxes. No wonder you're for space exploration.
Now don't you feel like a silly arse? Nevermind...just pop another can o' Bud and keep whining about *needless* space expenditures.
Yep needless expenditure. Manned space flight is a complete waste of resources and a giant boondoggle, glad you acknowledged it.
You may live in Georgia, sir, and you may fancy yourself some sort of Southern gentleman, but in truth you are a disgrace to the South. Chiggers live in Georgia too, and even they have better manners than you do.
While I agree that a gov't funded program is to be deplored, we both know that if NASA were abolished tonight, the feds would transfer its funding to some other programs, which are no better, and which are almost certainly worse. There are many times when I ask myself what business the feds have with a program like NASA (other than its obvious defense benefits), and I am reminded that Jefferson spent government funds on the Lewis & Clark expedition, the sole function of which was exploration of a far frontier. So until the free enterprise system rises up and claims the space industry as its own, I am reluctantly content to let the feds continue the space program in their blundering way.
Please don't bother responding. I have no wish to converse with you. I am posting to you this time only to defend the lady against your boorish conduct. You owe her an apology. If you were a man, you would face up to it.
You know, attacking how the tax funds are spent really doesn't do squat to stop the taxation, which is presumeably a goal we all hold in common here. You've already stipulated that you don't care if the space program is beneficial or not, so then why belittle it? If you put half the effort into reducing taxation as you do in bitching about the Space program, we might actually be able to get a politcal movement going that could effect some positive changes.
In a perfect libertarian world, the Federal gov't. wouldn't tax us, and it wouldn't spend money on Foreign Aid, Welfare, Education, Housing and Urban Renewal, Art, Science, the Space Program, or the Helium Fund. I yearn for such a day, even though I'm a big fan of science, Space exploration, and occasionally, helium.
But bashing the folks who are currently receiving the funding and are doing something more useful than polishing hubcaps isn't going to get us any closer to that dream. Your sentiments for a smaller, less expensive government are spot on, but your actions are counter-productive toward that end.
Lastly, your remarks about P_W's education and intelligence are so far removed from reality that it would take a space probe to find out where you are coming from. That was yet another immature, uncalled for, and counter-productive action on your part.
If you really want a smaller, less intrusive and expensive government, then focus your efforts on helping the rest of us who are interested in the same thing achieve that lofty goal, and quit bitching and moaning about every little thing that you don't see as being valuable to you.
Or are you all talk, no action?
Has a British subject ever travelled at six times the speed of sound?
Even our tragedies and failures are great; theirs, lilliputian and mewling.
Good point. Think of all the dope that could have been purchased with the money that went into the Columbia.
Well, not quite. Finishing her PhD in Geochemistry this year.
Cite sources. I helped to fly a spacecraft to another planet when I was working at JPL. We were able to gather a wealth of knowledge that will further our understanding of this solar system we live in.
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