NASA's 'Spinoff' Magazine Showed How Space Tech Was Building the Future
NASA is tremendously proud of the benefits that Americans see when space tech becomes commercialized for civilian use. But did you know NASA has an entire magazine devoted to showing off those spinoffs, published every year? The new edition is out today, and it’s a great excuse to take a look through Spinoff’s archives from the 1970s.
NASA has made every issue of Spinoff available on its website and it’s a fascinating glimpse at the ways space technology has been applied to medicine, sports, music, and alternative energy living, among other sectors.
The photo at the top was featured in the 1976 issue of Spinoff, with the caption:
Immune-deficient child leaves hospital sterile room for up to four hours carrying germ-free environment with her in a modification of the astronaut's isolation garment. The garment was developed originally to be worn between spacecraft landings and quarantine as a precaution against carrying unknown microorganisms from the moon. The spinoff is intended for children with aplastic anemia, leukemia, or other disorders requiring a sterile environment.
1976
Driverless Tram
Driverless electric tram, an outgrowth of several aerospace technologies, follows small cable on a roadway. Experimental vehicle may be forerunner of inexpensive feeder service to mass-transit systems. Proximity sensors stop the slow-moving car when approaching obstacles.
Banking
Computer-assisted banking operations, both to assist tellers and, in some cases, to do without them have been spun off from Apollo-guidance software and hardware.
Ski Boots
Footwarmer, small powerpack at right in photo above, fits on back of skiboot to activate heating circuit in soles. Powerpack is rechargeable with device shown in center. In photo above left, thermal gloves are heated similarly. Boot and glove warmers, which can be turned on only when needed, have been adapted from spacesuit designs that kept astronauts warm on the moon.
Amusement Park Rides
Showride—a cross between a movie and an amusement-park ride—combines features of each in 12-person "moving" cabin. Development emerged from technical information provided by a NASA industrial applications center.
1977
Disney World’s Space Mountain
The support structure for Disney World’s roller coaster, called “Space Mountain,” was designed with the help of the NASA STRuctural ANalysis computer program, or NASTRAN. Other photos show additional uses of the versatile program.
Voice-Controlled Wheelchairs
From the 1977 issue:
Michael Condon, a quadraplegic from Pasadena, California, demonstrates the NASA-developed voice-controlled wheelchair and its manipulator, which can pick up packages, open doors, turn a TV knob, and perform a variety of other functions. A possible boon to paralyzed and other severely handicapped persons, the chair-manipulator system responds to 35 one-word voice commands, such as "go," "stop," "up," "down," "right," "left," "forward," "backward." Heart of the system is a voice-command analyzer which utilizes a minicomputer. Commands are taught to the computer by the patient's repeating them a number of times; thereafter the analyzer recognizes commands only in the patient's particular speech pattern. The computer translates commands into electrical signals which activate appropriate motors and cause the desired motion of chair or manipulator. Based on teleoperator and robot technology for space-related programs, the voice-controlled system was developed by Jet Propulsion Laboratoy under the joint sponsorship of NASA and the Veterans Administration. The wheelchair- manipulator has been tested at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital Downey, California, and is being evaluated at the VA Prosthetics Center in New York City.
Airplane Escape Chutes
These Boeing 747 escape chutes, for rapid evacuation of passengers in a ground emergency, are inflated by filament-wound pressure vessels, 60 percent lighter than earlier inflation cylinders. Changeover to the new bottles, spinoffs from rocket motor casing technology, saves 200 pounds per airplane.
Computerized Medical Data
A NASA computer program for monitoring the health status of astronauts served as a departure point for development of an automated medical data system. The Medical Information Management System (MIMS) permits a hospital to maintain up-to-date medical records for patient diagnosis and treatment. It also provides a large readily available data base for medical research. With MIMS, doctors and aides can call up the record of a specific patient in seconds or search for specific data in the computerized file. MIMS was developed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in cooperation with Lincoln University, Federal City College and Howard University Medical School. The system is commercially available from United Computing Systems Inc., Falls Church, Virginia.
Tilt Rotor Aircraft
The NASA/Army Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft has large helicopter-like rotors for takeoff and landing, but in cruise flight the rotors tilt forward to become propellers. The craft can cruise at about 460 miles per hour, yet it retains the helicopter's vertical take off and landing and hovering characteristics. It is considered a promising concept for short-haul commercial transportation.
Optacon Reading Device
This blind child is reading, thanks to a device called the Optacon. The boy is passing a mini-camera over a printed page with his right hand; with his left he is sensing a vibrating image of the letters the camera is viewing. The Optacon allows the blind to read almost anything in print, not just braille transcriptions. The system originated in research performed at Stanford Research Institute under NASA sponsorship.
Videofile is used by a number of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada. It is a computerized pictorial record-keeping system offering high reliability and rapid retrieval of information. Key components of Videofile are derived from a video-tape storage and retrieval system developed
for NASA.
This child is wearing a “Pacer,” a cardiac pacemaker whose battery can be recharged through the skin without pain or inconvenience to the wearer. Developed by the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University, the Pacer represents a major advance in heart-assist devices in that its recharging capability eliminates the recurring need for surgery to implant a new battery. The Pacer’s nickel-cadmium batter, rechargeable in 90 minutes, has a lifetime of 10 to 20 years. It stores enough energy for eight weeks operation, but in normal use it is recharged weekly The basic pacemaker is a spinoff from miniaturized solid-state circuitry for spacecraft. The improved rechargeable device was based on NASA technology developed for satellite power systems.
Meal System For the Elderly
Meal System for the Elderly, a cooperative program in which the food-preparation expertise NASA acquired in manned space projects is being utilized to improve the nutritional status of elderly people. The program seeks to fill a gap by supplying nutritionally-balanced food packages to the elderly who are unable to participate in existing meal service programs.
Temper Foam
Temper Foam has a number of applications in sports because of its shock absorbing capacity and other special properties such as variable density. Here a trainer applies lightweight form-fitting Temper Foam to a high school football player for body protection. The energy-absorbing material is also used in baseball chest protectors and as added protection in soccer shin guards.
1978
Magsat Satellite
From the 1978 issue of Spinoff:
To be launched next year, Magsat is a satellite for mapping Earth's magnetic field. Its data, along with information produced by other satellites, will be used to develop a global resource map identifying promising areas for prospecting.
The auto pictured is one of a number of battery-powered electric vehicles being developed as a measure to reduce U.S. petroleum imports and curb automotive pollution. This electric car uses nickel-zinc batteries, adapted from space technology, which offer double the range of conventional lead-acid batteries. In support of the Department of Energy's electric vehicle program, NASA is handling road testing and evaluation of electrocars and also conducting research and development on both vehicles and propulsion systems.
Silverdome in Detroit
The Silverdome, home of the Detroit Lions at Pontiac, Michigan, has an air-supported, domed fabric roof for year-round utility. The coated fiber glass fabric is a strong, flame-resistant material originally developed for astronauts' space suits.
Marine Jet
The marine turbine pump pictured is the Jacuzzi 12YJ, a jet propulsion system for pleasure or commercial boating. Its development was aided by a NASA computer program made available by the Computer Software Management and Information Center (COSMIC) at the University of Georgia.
Heated Goggles
The electrically heated ski goggles shown incorporate technology similar to that once used in Apollo astronauts' helmet visors, and for the same reason-providing fog-free sight in an activity that demands total vision.
