NASA Technology Investments Yield Benefits

Daniel Lockney

Office of the Chief Technologist

NASA Headquarters

NASA Technology Investments Yield Benefits

www.nasa.gov

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA R&D yields tangible

and economic benefit in

addition to meeting

mission goals

Continued investment

in new technology

development will

deliver new benefits

Technology Investment

NASA Technology Transfer

A primary objective noted in the 2011 NASA

Strategic Plan: to “drive advances in science,

technology, and exploration to enhance

knowledge, education, innovation, economic

vitality, and stewardship of Earth”

The 1958 Aeronautics and Space Act that

created NASA mandated that the Agency

transfer its technologies “for the benefit of all

mankind”

In addition to enabling missions to the stars,

NASA R&D produces ancillary benefits to the

government, economy, and general public that

are visible in our everyday lives, from the

grocery store to the hospital

“As we look to the future,

the benefits that we will

have for example in fields

like health are simply

unimaginable.”

—Richard Nixon

“What impresses

me about the

program is the

sheer number of

spinoffs and their

great variety.”

—Gerald Ford

“I have to admire what our

efforts in space have

produced. Better tools for

heart surgery, improved

techniques for fighting cancer

and many more achievements

which can help all of us live

longer.”

— Jimmy Carter

“People are not aware of

the enormous technological

achievements that directly

benefit and will continue to

benefit all of us, not only in

this country but all over the

world.”

—Ronald Reagan

Historical Views of Space Technology

Why spend money on NASA at all? Why spend money solving problems in

space when we don’t lack for problems to solve here on the ground?…

You and I know this is a false choice….For pennies on the dollar, the Space

Program has fueled jobs and entire industries.

—President Barack Obama

The Benefits of NASA Spinoffs

Health and Medicine

Spinoffs

have

occurred in

every

market

Information Technology

Consumer Goods

Energy and

Environment

Industrial Productivity

Public Safety

Transportation

With over 1,800 recorded NASA spinoffs, NASA technologies influence our lives in a

variety of ways—making us safer, healthier, and more efficient.

NASA in Your Life

http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/

Educated and

Entertained

Enhanced Safety

Saved

Lives

Increased

Efficiency

Preserved the

Environment

Created

New

Markets

Improved Economic Competitiveness

Created

Jobs


NASA has long partnered with ORBITEC to

develop rocket and spacecraft propulsion

design

ORBITEC created higher-powered, lower-

cost, versatile, and even reusable vortex

hybrid rocket engines that effectively manage

ultra-high pressure (UHP) flows

HMA, a subsidiary of ORBITEC, took the

design ideas from these advanced rockets

and applied the technology to water delivery

systems for firefighting

HMA consistently drew from the advances of

the NASA ORBITEC partnership, producing

multiple suppression delivery systems,

including hoses and vehicles

Spinoff 2011 Public Safety

High-Pressure Systems Suppress Fires in Seconds


In one test, HMA put out a

fire 80 percent faster than

a traditional system while

using only 6 percent as

much water

Marshall engineer Frank Nola developed a device for

reducing energy waste in small induction motors

By controlling the voltage in accordance with the

motor’s load, the Nola device saves energy,

translating into savings in cost and resource

The company licensed the technology, made a series

of patented improvements, and now markets the

NASA-derived technology globally

The commercial device includes a “soft start”

functionality that gradually introduces power,

eliminating stresses and increasing the motor’s

lifetime

Spinoff 2007

Title of photo

Environmental Resources

Voltage Controller Saves Energy, Prolongs Life of Motors

Common applications include mixers,

conveyors, elevators, and escalators.

The technology is installed at airports,

universities, casinos, and department

stores


NASA invented VICAR (Video Image

Communication and Retrieval) software to

analyze images from NASA space missions

One of the inventors wanted to apply the

technology for health care diagnosis

Partnering with the University of Southern

California, the image-analysis software was

successfully used with ultrasound images of

arteries to see plaque buildup and arterial wall

thickness

Gary F. Thompson obtained an exclusive license

for technology and invested money to start

Medical Technologies International Inc. (MTI),

which now provides ArterioVision

Spinoff 2007 Health and Medicine

Noninvasive Test Detects Cardiovascular Disease

Used across the world,

ArterioVision measures the artery

wall to provide an “age” of

arteries, which shows a person’s

risk for heart attack or stroke; the

technology is in all 50 states


NASA launched the first of its inflatable space

structures in the form of large, metalized

balloons—the Echo satellites, in 1960

ManTech SRS Technologies received Small

Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding

to develop an inflatable solar concentrator; the

technology was applicable to inflatable

antennas

GATR licensed the technology from SRS and

improved it through a Glenn Space Act

Agreement

Certified by the Federal Communications

Commission, the ground-based inflatable

antennas are transported in two portable cases

and can be quickly deployed in remote areas

Spinoff 2010 Public Safety

Inflatable Antennas Support Emergency Communication


GATR provided

communications after

Hurricane Katrina,

wildfires in California,

and the 2010 Haiti

earthquake

Space suits for the Apollo missions required an

outer layer that would be durable, strong,

lightweight, flexible, and noncombustible

In exploring fiberglass fabric options for

architectural use, Birdair Structures Inc.

collaborated with the same private companies that

developed the fabric for NASA

Birdair used the PTFE fabric to develop a

lightweight, tensile membrane for roofs, skylights,

and canopies

Birdair’s roofing covers major transportation hubs,

sports facilities, and convention centers, including

the Georgia Dome, Denver airport, and the Dallas

Cowboys Stadium

Spinoff 2009 Industrial Productivity

Tensile Fabrics Enhance Architecture Around the World


Birdair has become a

multimillion-dollar

company with nearly

900 landmark tensile

structures worldwide

Research and testing by Langley engineer Richard

Whitcomb demonstrated the effectiveness of winglets

in reducing performance-inhibiting drag

Further flight tests conducted at Dryden validated

Whitcomb’s findings

Aviation Partners Inc. and The Boeing Company

collaborated to form Aviation Partners Boeing and

apply a new form of the NASA-proven technology to

Boeing aircraft

The Blended Winglet technology improves winglet

aerodynamics

Spinoff 2010 Transportation

Winglets Save Billions of Dollars in Fuel Costs


Blended Winglets are now

featured on many aircraft,

with an estimated savings of

more than 2 billion gallons of

jet fuel as of 2010, reducing

costs by $4 billion and carbon

dioxide emissions by 21.5

million tons

JPL researchers explored ways to significantly

miniaturize cameras on interplanetary

spacecraft while maintaining scientific image

quality

A team led by Eric Fossum developed an

energy-efficient light sensor with all of its

components integrated on a single chip

Fossum and other JPL engineers licensed the

sensor technology and founded Photobit to

pursue commercial applications

The company was acquired and later spun out

as Aptina

The NASA-derived sensors are now

incorporated into digital cameras, automotive

and surveillance cameras, and medical

imaging devices

Spinoff 2010 Consumer Goods

Image Sensors Enhance Camera Technologies

One of every three

cell phone cameras

worldwide features

Aptina’s sensors;

the company has

shipped over 1

billion sensors


NVision Solutions Inc. of Mississippi: 73 jobs

Mikro Systems Inc. of Virginia: 37 jobs

Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation

of Virginia: 510 jobs

AlterG Inc. of California: 65 jobs

Martek Biosciences of Maryland: 500+ jobs

Bloom Energy of California: In the process

of adding 1,000 jobs

Sierra Lobo Inc. of Ohio: 400 jobs

GATR Technologies of Alabama: 20 jobs

Of the over 14,400 jobs reported due to recent NASA technology transfer efforts (64 companies contributed to thistotal), the following subset shows some highlights:

Recent Examples of Jobs Created Through NASA Tech Transfer

NASA PREDECISIONAL

NVision Solutions Inc. of Mississippi: $2.5 million

BRS Aerospace of Minnesota: about $20 million for 2010 alone

SpaceForm Inc. of Michigan: $6 million

SpaceMicro of California: grew from a $1 million company

to a $8 million company

Martek Biosciences Corporation of Maryland:

$450 million per year Recently acquired by DSM Inc. for $1.1 billion, not added to total

Barrett Technology Inc. of Massachusetts: $10 million

LifeWings Partners of Tennessee: $3 million per year

GATR Technologies of Alabama: $8.6 million

Amnis Corporation of Washington: $10 million

Of the over $5 billion in revenue reported due to recent NASA technology transfer

efforts (72 companies contributed to this total), the following highlights some of the

successes:

Recent Examples of Revenue Generated Through

NASA Tech Transfer

Advanced Circulatory Systems Inc. of Minnesota: CPR assist

devices provide up to a 57-percent increase in the survival

rate of heart attack victims

Givens Marine Survival Company of Rhode Island:

Specialized life rafts have saved the lives of 400+ sailors to date

BRS Aerospace of Minnesota: Whole plane parachutes have

saved the lives of 266 pilots and passengers to date

LifeWings Partners of Tennessee: Operational training in hospitals

has resulted in an almost 50-percent drop in observed

to expected deaths

MicroMed Technology Inc. of Texas: 450+ patients

have received life-saving heart pumps, accounting for

130+ patient years of life

www.nasa.gov

Of the over 440,000 lives saved as a direct result of NASA technology

transfer (26 companies contributed to this total), these are but a few

examples:

Recent Examples of Lives Saved Through

NASA Tech Transfer

www.sti.nasa.gov/spinoff/database

NASA Spinoff http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/

The Spinoff Database

www.nasa.gov/city

NASA Spinoff http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/

NASA @ Home and City

Daniel Lockney

Technology Transfer Program Executive

Office of the Chief Technologist

NASA Headquarters

[email protected]

office: 202-358-2037

cell: 202-341-5006

Twitter.com/NASA_Spinoff

Facebook.com/nasainyourlife

Contact Information

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NASA Technology Investments Yield Benefits

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