NASA spinoffs gave us easier life

So you’re sitting in front of your flat-screen satellite TV, texting your BFF and waiting for the microwave popcorn to beep, and you wonder what has the space program ever done for you?

Everything in the paragraph above —- except the chair and the BFF —- is a space spinoff. So, how about a little love for NASA this month on its 50th birthday? How many space spinoffs are there in our daily lives? NASA has recorded more than 1,600 since it began publishing a spinoff magazine in 1976 (www.sti.nasa.gov/spinoff/database/). And the space agency says there are many more.

We’ll use NASA’s own Top 25 spinoff list and the lists compiled by newspapers and other publications around the world in honor of NASA’s 50th birthday.

1. The satellites themselves. Everything from TV and GPS signals to Google Earth comes to us from advances on that tiny American satellite developed in Huntsville, Ala., by Dr. Wernher von Braun and the folks who would become NASA.

2. Air-cushioned running shoes. Northern Ireland’s Belfast Telegraph actually ranks this spinoff No. 2, following only the cordless vacuum cleaner, a pretty cool invention itself, you have to admit. Using space-helmet technology, a former NASA engineer pitched a shoe to Nike with hollow soles filled with shock-absorbing technology. You know it as the Nike Air.

3. The light-emitting diode (LED). The LED is more than a cool source of visible light for brakes, flashlights and wristwatches. Red LEDs are growing plants in space and providing relief on Earth for muscle and joint pain, arthritis, stiffness and muscle spasms.

4. The infrared ear thermometer. Modern moms have no idea how hard it was to get little Cody’s temp just a few decades ago. Instead of sticking a thermometer heaven knows where and trying to hold it there, today they touch an infrared thermometer to the ear and get a reading.

5. The lightweight blanket. Everyone loves these paper-thin, highly reflective blankets. Using a thin metallic coating developed by NASA, they reflect back 80 percent of body heat and fold up into the size of a handkerchief.

6. Artificial limb technology. NASA innovations in robotics and shock absorption have given us prostheses with the look and feel of skin outside and artificial muscle systems underneath.

7. The heart pump. Collaboration between NASA, the late Dr. Michael DeBakey and others created a lifesaving heart pump patients can use while awaiting transplants. It weighs less than 4 ounces and measures 1 by 3 inches, about the size of a box of matches.

8. Video enhancing and analysis. Builds on video stabilization technology developed by NASA to enhance images, particularly from nighttime videotapes. This technology is widely used by law enforcement and the military.

9. Anti-icing systems. Flown through bad winter weather? Credit NASA scientists with the technology that led to new anti-icing and deicing systems.

10. Solar panels. Green living got easier because NASA in the 1980s grew silicon crystals in a lab that can convert sunlight into electricity. Today’s solar panels use the same technology.

11. Safer runways and roads. Originated at NASA’s Langley Research Center, the technique of cutting grooves in roads and runways to remove water has dramatically cut hydroplaning accidents.

12. Better sunglasses. The special carbon coating NASA invented to protect astronaut helmets from space particle scratches is now a standard feature of modern shades.

13. Remote-controlled tractors. NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory designed GPS systems that enable tractors to run uncontrolled with a margin of path error of one centimeter.

14. Bio detectors. A bacterial spore detector for cleaning Mars-bound spacecraft is now in use worldwide to detect anthrax. You’ll find it in government buildings, offices, airports, convention centers and hotels, among other places.

15. Wireless electrical switches. NASA engineers developed a low-cost device that creates electrical energy out of mechanical energy. Say hello to the wireless light switch, now being mass-produced in Taiwan.

16. Liquid metal. Developed at Marshall Space Flight Center, this new type of metal is stronger than titanium but flexible like plastic. It’s now used on everything from baseball bats and hockey sticks to a luxury watch from TAG Heuer.

17. Synthetic vision. Imagine looking out a plane’s front window and seeing a real-time, 3-D image of the approaching terrain. It’s in use in small planes all over the world, thanks to NASA scientists.

18. Cellphone commander. A remote system designed to run experiments on the space station has led to an “intelligent” stove that can keep food cool until being told to start dinner by cellphone.

19. Bunker snooper. A Mars rover prototype and a stair-climbing robot built by NASA have been developed into robots used by U.S. troops to clear caves and bunkers and to seek out IEDs.

20. Better tires. Goodyear developed a new fiber for NASA parachutes that lower planetary rovers onto the surface of distant worlds. So strong was the fiber, Goodyear now uses it in a new radial tire expected to last 10,000 miles longer than other radials.

21. Better golf balls. Wilson, the No. 1 golf ball maker, claims its balls fly farther than others because the company used NASA research to change the dimple pattern.

22. Firefighter gear. The “turnout gear” widely used by firefighters is based on NASA research. The lightweight breathing system, including the face mask, frame, harness and air bottle, uses an aluminum composite developed for rocket casings.

23. Art protector. Heat-resistant polymers tested by NASA are now being studied by the J. Paul Getty Trust because one of them may be able to protect bronze statues from corrosion.

24. Warm fingers and toes. Battery-powered thermal boots and gloves are a spinoff of NASA technology designed to keep astronaut feet and hands warm in space.

25. Hang gliders. Most modern hang gliders owe their existence to NASA wing tests for Gemini space capsules in the late 1950s.

26. Better braces. Nitinol is an alloy used to wire teeth braces. It was tested by NASA for satellites that needed to “spring” open after being stored in a rocket for lift into orbit.

27. Fire watchers. Infrared technology developed by NASA in the 1990s can spot forest fires much sooner than they can be spotted on the ground.

28. Cleaner goggles. Tired of your diving mask, glasses, car windows or ski goggles steaming up in cold weather? Apply a version of coatings developed by NASA to keep space shuttle windows free of condensation.

29. Cleaner air. An air monitoring system based on NASA technology can analyze gases coming from chimneys.

30. Speedo swimsuits. New swimsuit technology showcased at the recent Olympics reduces drag in the water by as much as 10 percent.

31. Home blood pressure kits. NASA needed a way to monitor the effect of liftoff on an astronaut’s blood pressure. The kits developed for that formed the basis for the personal kits seen everywhere today.

32. The self-righting life raft. Inflates rapidly and stays stable in bad conditions. Developed during the Apollo program, now used worldwide.

33. Car crash rescues. NASA uses explosive bolts to separate the space shuttle from its rocket boosters. A variation of that technology is now used to more quickly remove victims from crashed cars or exploded buildings.

34. Stronger steel girders. The Apollo heat shield was coated with a material designed to burn off —- and thus dissipate —- heat energy during re-entry. Later uses included fire-resistant paint for aircraft. Now, it is used to coat steel girders so they can withstand fires up to four hours longer.

35. Freeze-drying technology. Freeze-drying of food was quickly embraced by the food industry, especially the snack food industry, but it is now making possible simple, nutritious meals for handicapped and homebound adults.

36. Cleaner water. Turning moisture from respiration, sweat and urine into drinkable water has obvious uses in long-term spaceflight. It also has obvious benefits for people all over the world who need affordable, clean water.

37. Memory foam. Trying to improve crash protection for airplane passengers, NASA developed a foam material that has been widely used in mattresses, pillows, all forms of moving craft, amusement park rides, even NASCAR race cars.

38. Better baby food. Commercial baby formula now contains a nutritional enrichment that dates to NASA-funded research into the potential of algae as a recycling agent. The products of this research are now in 90 percent of commercial baby formulas.

39. Better computer software. NASA and Google are working to deal with the challenge of managing and distributing large amounts of data. So far, the result is better real-time weather data and high-resolution maps.

40. Powdered lubricant. You may not have a tube of this around the house, but it is saving manufacturers millions. Developed to protect machine parts and an oil-free aircraft engine.

41. Safer food. The Pillsbury Co. helped NASA solve several problems with astronaut food. The resulting Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point concept is now required for the handling of seafood, juice and dairy products.

42. Safer railroads. A NASA-developed monitor designed to test the tension and pressure load on bolts and fasteners is now used to evaluate railroad ties. Medically, it can assess the internal swelling of patients suffering from intracranial pressure.

43. MRIs. NASA didn’t invent magnetic resonance imaging, but it did make MRIs better. NASA’s digital image processing, developed to allow computer enhancement of moon pictures, also improves MRI images.

44. Better cosmetics. Estee Lauder used similar image-enhancing techniques to better analyze cosmetics. The result? More subtle and effective makeup.

45. High-speed ticket processing. NASA worked with Texas Instruments on the technology that allows for the high-volume printing and processing of airline tickets.

46. Less jet lag. Trying to maximize crew effectiveness, NASA worked with a company called Awareness Solutions to create techniques to help companies deal with irregular sleep schedules, jet lag and drowsy driving.

47. Safer chicken dinners. Wonder what’s growing on that chicken in the grocery store? Probably not much if the store used NASA-developed broadspan multispectral imaging, which shows energy being radiated by everything from a chicken leg to crime evidence.

48. Cleaner oceans, Part 1. NASA satellites’ studies of ocean color, especially, has enabled researchers to study effects of human and natural changes to the oceans.

49. Cleaner oceans, Part 2. NASA “microencapsulating” technology has revolutionized oil spill cleanup. Tiny balls of beeswax are put into the water. Sea water can’t penetrate the beeswax, but oil is absorbed directly.

50. Faster rescues. Hikers, mountaineers and other thrill-seekers worldwide use the “personal locator beacon” based on NASA satellite technology to pinpoint their location anywhere on Earth.