Slashdot Mirror

Yah I guess your right I mean what benefits has mankind seen from NASA sending those people into space. Well if you ignore:
Air quality monitoring systems, Air Purification, Virtual Reality, Enriched Baby Food, Water Purification Systems, Scratch Resistant Lenses, Athletic Shoes(shock absorbing), Solar Energy, Weather Forecasting Aid, Advanced keyboards, Customer Service Software, Database Management System, Laser Surveying, Aircraft controls, Lightweight Compact Disc, Microcomputers, Wind Monitoring, Radiation Insulation, Fire Resistant Materials, Sewage Treatment, Breast Cancer Detection, Programmable Pacemakers, Digital Imaging Breast Biopsy System, Radioactive Leak Detectors, Microlasers, Engine Lubricant, Advanced welding torches, Radiation Hazard Detection, Emergency Rescue Cutters, Improved Air Tanks for Firefighters, Interactive Computer Training, Doppler Radar for storm warning, Improve Aircraft Engines, Ultrasound Scanners, Automatic Insulin Pump, Portable x-ray Device.
(This list is only part in a long list of stuff)
Source: http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

No, just the R&D that costs trillions with no foreseeable return.

There are plenty of returns for all the R&D even ignoring our eventual need to expand beyond this planet.

Many of the NASA technologies on this list would not have been developed if it were an unmanned only operation.

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

Don't get me wrong, I think there's an incredible amount of science that can be accomplished using unmanned probes, landers, etc. but to not have any manned exploration would be a mistake.

And no matter how good we make the robots a real human being is infinitely more adaptable. As an example, one of the Mars rovers (I think it was Spirit) at one point had trouble keeping it's batteries charged due to the build up of dust on the solar panels reducing the efficiency. The unmanned rover couldn't do anything about it because it was not designed to handle that task. A human being on the other hand would simply brush off the dust. A seemingly simple task that even the most advanced robot can't do.

I think both manned and unmanned spaceflight have their place.

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

I'm sure this isn't a complete list but here are some of the technologies that have come out of the work that NASA does.

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

Here:

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/spinoffs2.shtml

or here:

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

Also, how does the GPS in a smartphone work w/o a satellite?

William

And you are uneducated enough not to know the difference.
Have you seen the heat shield they started putting on/in houses in southern climates? Where do you think that was developed originally? This heat shield keeps heat out in summer; and retains heat in the winter. This is one of the most obvious applications of NASA developed technology towards greater energy conservation.

Microwaves -- are these a myth? Think these were developed by a commercial entity just so they could sell you a different type of oven?

Integrated circuits -- of course lighter weight, cheaper to manufacture electronics were not created by the space industry. When lifting loads into orbit, you don't need lighter weight electronics.

Here is a better list you can ignore

"For space technology you can't spread out that R&D cost."

Oh yes, you can. Perhaps not everything can be reused, but I certainly would not dismiss those things that can be reused, patented, licensed, manufactured, and sold here on Earth.

I actually agree with you. NASA has a lot of value to the country that people really do not see! There's lots of factors why, and NASA shares a little bit of the blame in that PR could be done a lot better - but overall it's been a constant problem that people don't see the end product of all their government-sponsored research dollars.

There's some good sites online though, that have lists of NASA Spinoff technology:

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/nasalife/index.html

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=26661

I know I'm starting to sound like a shill at this point, but when you really believe in something, that's a risk you end up taking. :)

Laws of physics forbid humanity or at least enough of it to go somewhere else?

We lack the technology to terraform mars (at least now, afaik), but if enough base materials are there, probably would be easier to put something self sustained there than in i.e. moon or a space station. In fact (i think i said exactly this in a prev related discussion) whatever we research to help us live in as extreme environments as mars, could help us to live here too, if things go wrong.

There are maybe more urgent things to solve down here, but if something bad big enough happens, in the end won't matter. Or we can just worry about the present, as always will be something that could be considered more urgent than what really matters.

Last, but not least, sometimes the journey is as important as the destination. Some NASA spinoffs proved that space exploration helped down here in earth. Who knows what Mars could bring.

It took me less than a minute to find this list. Below is a quote lifted from the page about ROI. If you choose to not believe it, that is your choice.

Out of a $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program! That's less than 1 penny for every dollar spent. The average American spends more of their budget on their cable bill, eating out or entertainment than this yet the benefits of space flight are remarkable. It has been conservatively estimated by U.S. space experts that for every dollar the U.S. spends on R and D in 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.

Everyone I know is stupid and doesn't know jack shit about economics, or anything for that matter. When it comes to space exploration, it's "a waste when we should spend more on (socialized health care|schools|feeding the hungry|etc)."

For me space exploration fills the need to get the hell off this planet before a mass extinction event occurs (say, Yellowstone Caldera erupting); but it also has a massive economic and technological effect. NASA asks for shit nobody else will ask for (yet); companies thus have to hire creative engineers to solve problems nobody wants to solve, and then suddenly we have new technology. New technology is so useless, it does nothing; so these companies now try desperately to find a use for it outside NASA so they can market it to consumers to make money. Now we have consumer products nobody would have thought of before.... (try this, thank Google: http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html)

Think inside the box, or inside the box, or on top of the box, or blow the fucking box up and think on your own. Don't look at X and think it means only X; space exploration is a damn important driving force for both the economy and technological advancement in general.

The Apollo program has paid for itself at least a hundred times over, in direct economic benefits, by creating entire new industries, and spawning more new technology than you can imagine, much of which is used in every day life.

http://www.ethicalatheist.com/docs/benefits_of_space_program.html

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home.html

http://www.fas.org/news/usa/2000/usa-001012.htm

http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/space_program_spinoffs.htm

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9811/02/space.medical/index.html

And on and on and on.

Who cares? Out of a $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program! and the results can't really be judged until well after the event. I mean, Who would have thought how important the Transistor or Velcro would have been at the time?
The space program causes creativity and innovation in ways that can rarely be predicted.
Some examples from NASA are found
http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home.html
and from another page
http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html
The benefits to society are immeasurable, from Baby food, to running shoes, to breast cancer detection to wind shear protection to, Well my Internet connect is a satellite connect today...

The issue I have with NASA is they are still political and the thought of a $450 Billion mars mission in ludicrous and entirely politically motivated. 4Frontiers (http://www.4frontierscorp.com/) has a plan for an entire Martian settlement, complete with labs and manufacturing facilities, sleeping 42 (including some remote habitats.) for a loose estimate of a quarter of that politically driven $450! And this is using tech that is pretty close to current or easily extrapolatable from current tech!

Having said that, the settlement plans count pretty heavily on the probes sent by NASA and ESA...

In any case, we could build a settlement, a nearly self sustaining colony, for less that six month of Combat Ops in Iraq (and soon Iran) - And we'll probably be done sooner...

I know this is too late to get modded, I just hope someone reads it!

I agree some of those are a bit off in popular thought, but check this list out http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html for a list of NASA Spin-offs and space benefits.

I really think that one of the best things from a space program is not any product, it's the realization of a vision. When a generation realizes that even something like the moon or planets is within our grasp, it's awe-inspiring and creates a positive in a world full of negatives. It gets people to believe in their dreams and aspire to be more than just another drone in society.

It's a popular complaint though, because as opposed to the war in Iraq enhancing the US society every day it goes on, NASA isn't achieving anything good for it with their funding. :-p

Your friends "follow" the space program, which means they read news. Dan Goldin started the "smarter" NASA when I worked as a contractor at KSC back in the 90's. Crippen pushed safety and cost effectiveness. I worked with some of the best people in the industry, and never have I met a group more focused on a mission. The mission was the mission statement.
And if NASA was scrapped tomorrow, you'd get no more of these:
http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html Spinoffs.
And I just bet that your house is filled with things that came as a spinoff of the program.
And now you whine "But because I want them they would have been invented anyways" but when? By whom?
And as another poster mentioned, NASA puts lots of money into research that is carried out by Universities and schools.
I'd suggest you get more information from the sources, and less from your "friends"

Our industry has experienced a profound transformation. In the 1960's, when the semiconductor industry first emerged from anonymity, the key driver of the industry was the government and aerospace sector. Major applications were the Apollo space program and weapons systems such as the Minute Man intercontinental ballistic missile.

With the end of the Apollo program and the cuts in the defense budget after the Vietnam War, the key driver of the industry shifted in the early 1970's to the corporate Information Technology (IT) sector. The introduction of the IBM 360 (the first use of integrated circuits in a computer) and the mini-computer initiated the first IT boom in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

For some more spinoffs: link

Feel free to hurl insults at yourself; it's not my specialty.

1. Computer Technology - NASA Spinoffs
   • Advanced keyboards, Customer Service Software, Database Management System, Laser Surveying, Aircraft controls, Lightweight Compact Disc, Expert System Software, Microcomputers, and Design Graphics.
2. Consumer/Home/Recreation - NASA Spinoffs
   • 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.

Yeah, because none of the technologies NASA has developed have ever been used for anything other than space travel.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Although we don't really have an immediate need to explore space, the fact that we want to explore space creates a reason for "better computers and materials." It's kind of hard to go to a room full of scientists and say "invent better materials." It's a little better if you say "we need to design a structure that is capable of withstanding 200 km/h winds in a -100 C environment, and we need the materials to be light enough to transport through space, yet strong enough to retain 1 atm of pressure in a .01 atm environment without exploding."
If you can't see all of the positive spinoffs the space program has had on society, maybe it's just because they're such an integral part of your life that you don't notice them.
http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

SS1 goes no where near as far as NASA needs to go, and SS1 is still fairly immature technology. SS1 had a few good test flights, that means nothing... the Shuttles had over 100 flights (and spent over 1045 days in space), only 2 failed. If you want to know the many ways that NASA has not only helped the Nation, but the entire world with technologies they've developed read this. The formatting is screwy under firefox, if you highlight the text, its easier to read. In short, NASA has done a lot, and you live a better life because of it and their research, their failures, their software all helped SS1 come into being. One of the best things you can do is learn form others mistakes, NASA was the only one willing to take the risks on things like the shuttle, so they were the only one that could make mistakes, now we are learning from them and improving, this is how its supposed to work.
Regards,
Steve

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 national security, the 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 $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program! That's less than 1 penny for every dollar spent. The average American spends more of their budget on their cable bill, eating out or entertainment than this yet the benefits of space flight are remarkable. It has been conservatively estimated by U.S. space experts that for every dollar the U.S. spends on R and D in 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.uu

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

The funny thing is how ignorant you are. Read this.
Regards,
Steve

The pen that can write upside down (likely the Fisher Space Pen) was completely privately developed and was not funded or supported by the government or space program.

Perhaps the reason you don't see many spinoffs from the space program is that they are literally all around you. You can't see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Miniaturization is often quoted, and it is quite true. There are many other examples, many in medicine and industry.

I think there may be a few things you have overlooked but they are easy enough to find.

Jim

An Apollo 12 was struck by lighting and still survived to complete its mission successfully (it went to the moon)! The most famous call in NASA history was made by the electronics engineer when he told them to reset the system using 'SCE to aux' which the astronauts found after some searching. And the electronics still worked. Now that is reliable engineering. Now the space shuttle can't withstand foam. But NASA was better funded then, you get what you pay for. Maybe if Bush wants to go to Mars, he should cut the budget. Just a thought...

1. infrared body temperature masurement
2. Left Ventricular Assist Device (heart pump)
3. The LORAD Stereo Guide Breast Biopsy System
4. Tempur
5. Tang
6. Medical imaging technologies using digital imaging and processing techniques, such as MRI and CAT scans.
7. Smoke detectors were first used in NASA's Skylab orbiting space station in 1973
8. bar codes
9. Lifeshear, a pyrotechnic-based cutting tool
10. Cordless appliances were first used by Apollo astronauts to drill into the moon's surface and collect rock and soil samples
11. Excimer laser technology.

Here are some examples from the list

Air Quality Monitor

Virtual Reality

Municiple Water prurification (So your tap water doesn't kill you.)

Solar Energy

Fire resistant material

Digital Imagry Breast Biopsy

Voice controlled wheel chair

And here are a bunch from the above link that were easy to cut and paste:
Advanced keyboards, Customer Service Software, Database Management System, Laser Surveying, Aircraft controls, Lightweight Compact Disc, Expert System Software, Microcomputers, and Design Graphics. 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. 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. 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. Gasoline vapor recovery, self-locking fasteners, machine tool software, laser wire stripper, lubricant coating process, wireless communications, engine coatings, and engine design. Storm warning services (Doppler radar), firefighters' radios, lead poison detection, fire detector, flame detector, corrosion protection coating, protective clothing, and robotic hands. So yeah, I'd say mankind has gained something from going to space. And to think all of this would have been developed in the timeframe without NASA and its goals is laughable.

Link to some spinoffs from NASA.

Sure some of this stuff might of been discovered without NASA. But it probably would have been decades later or in some cases we might still be waiting. And judging from some of the stuff listed it's helped save lives already. Example? Better Firemans Air Tanks.

My favorite?
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.

For a change, a"Back in my day..."comment is actually accurate. Alan Shepard had to do it in his suit!

"Commercially available infant formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment ingredient that traces its existence to NASA-sponsored research that explored the potential of algae as a recycling agent for long duration space travel." (ref)

Ski wear: "The NASA association began back in the 1970s, when Comfort Products adapted astronaut protective clothing technology to ski boot design. Specifically, the company borrowed heating element circuitry that kept Apollo astronauts warm or cool in the temperature extremes of the Moon, and used it to create built-in rechargeable footwarming devices that were supplied to leading ski boot manufacturers." (ref, emphasis added)

"In 1965, Johnson Space Center contracted with the University of Minnesota to explore the then-known but little-developed concept of impedance cardiography (ICG) as a means of astronaut monitoring. A five-year program led to the development of the Minnesota Impedance Cardiograph (MIC), an electronic system for measuring impedance changes across the thorax that would be reflective of cardiac function and blood flow from the heart's left ventricle into the aorta... the cost of the thermodilution technique [the old, invasive way] runs five to 17 times that of IQ monitoring [the new, NASA-developed way]"(ref)

"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" (ref)

"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."(ref)

"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." (ref)

"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."(ref)

"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."(ref)

"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."(

"Commercially available infant formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment ingredient that traces its existence to NASA-sponsored research that explored the potential of algae as a recycling agent for long duration space travel." (ref)

Ski wear: "The NASA association began back in the 1970s, when Comfort Products adapted astronaut protective clothing technology to ski boot design. Specifically, the company borrowed heating element circuitry that kept Apollo astronauts warm or cool in the temperature extremes of the Moon, and used it to create built-in rechargeable footwarming devices that were supplied to leading ski boot manufacturers." (ref, emphasis added)

"In 1965, Johnson Space Center contracted with the University of Minnesota to explore the then-known but little-developed concept of impedance cardiography (ICG) as a means of astronaut monitoring. A five-year program led to the development of the Minnesota Impedance Cardiograph (MIC), an electronic system for measuring impedance changes across the thorax that would be reflective of cardiac function and blood flow from the heart's left ventricle into the aorta... the cost of the thermodilution technique [the old, invasive way] runs five to 17 times that of IQ monitoring [the new, NASA-developed way]"(ref)

"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" (ref)

"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."(ref)

"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." (ref)

"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."(ref)

"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."(ref)

"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."(

"Commercially available infant formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment ingredient that traces its existence to NASA-sponsored research that explored the potential of algae as a recycling agent for long duration space travel." (ref)

Ski wear: "The NASA association began back in the 1970s, when Comfort Products adapted astronaut protective clothing technology to ski boot design. Specifically, the company borrowed heating element circuitry that kept Apollo astronauts warm or cool in the temperature extremes of the Moon, and used it to create built-in rechargeable footwarming devices that were supplied to leading ski boot manufacturers." (ref, emphasis added)

"In 1965, Johnson Space Center contracted with the University of Minnesota to explore the then-known but little-developed concept of impedance cardiography (ICG) as a means of astronaut monitoring. A five-year program led to the development of the Minnesota Impedance Cardiograph (MIC), an electronic system for measuring impedance changes across the thorax that would be reflective of cardiac function and blood flow from the heart's left ventricle into the aorta... the cost of the thermodilution technique [the old, invasive way] runs five to 17 times that of IQ monitoring [the new, NASA-developed way]"(ref)

"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" (ref)

"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."(ref)

"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." (ref)

"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."(ref)

"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."(ref)

"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."(

"Commercially available infant formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment ingredient that traces its existence to NASA-sponsored research that explored the potential of algae as a recycling agent for long duration space travel." (ref)

Ski wear: "The NASA association began back in the 1970s, when Comfort Products adapted astronaut protective clothing technology to ski boot design. Specifically, the company borrowed heating element circuitry that kept Apollo astronauts warm or cool in the temperature extremes of the Moon, and used it to create built-in rechargeable footwarming devices that were supplied to leading ski boot manufacturers." (ref, emphasis added)

"In 1965, Johnson Space Center contracted with the University of Minnesota to explore the then-known but little-developed concept of impedance cardiography (ICG) as a means of astronaut monitoring. A five-year program led to the development of the Minnesota Impedance Cardiograph (MIC), an electronic system for measuring impedance changes across the thorax that would be reflective of cardiac function and blood flow from the heart's left ventricle into the aorta... the cost of the thermodilution technique [the old, invasive way] runs five to 17 times that of IQ monitoring [the new, NASA-developed way]"(ref)

"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" (ref)

"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."(ref)

"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." (ref)

"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."(ref)

"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."(ref)

"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."(

"Commercially available infant formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment ingredient that traces its existence to NASA-sponsored research that explored the potential of algae as a recycling agent for long duration space travel." (ref)

Ski wear: "The NASA association began back in the 1970s, when Comfort Products adapted astronaut protective clothing technology to ski boot design. Specifically, the company borrowed heating element circuitry that kept Apollo astronauts warm or cool in the temperature extremes of the Moon, and used it to create built-in rechargeable footwarming devices that were supplied to leading ski boot manufacturers." (ref, emphasis added)

"In 1965, Johnson Space Center contracted with the University of Minnesota to explore the then-known but little-developed concept of impedance cardiography (ICG) as a means of astronaut monitoring. A five-year program led to the development of the Minnesota Impedance Cardiograph (MIC), an electronic system for measuring impedance changes across the thorax that would be reflective of cardiac function and blood flow from the heart's left ventricle into the aorta... the cost of the thermodilution technique [the old, invasive way] runs five to 17 times that of IQ monitoring [the new, NASA-developed way]"(ref)

"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" (ref)

"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."(ref)

"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." (ref)

"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."(ref)

"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."(ref)

"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."(

• Enriched baby food
• Scratch-resistent lenses
• Solar energy
• Radiation insulation
• Programmable pacemaker
• Voice controlled wheelchair

Why dont you look here http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html to see just a few direct ways space exploration has improved your life. There are numerous other ways in which we have all beinifited indirectly from research that was done initially for the space program. Google away, you are bound to find space exploration spin-offs everywhere.

Whole industries got a boost or were even created with that money...computers.

The Tang industry is still benefiting mankind as well as other lots of other stuff too.

I mean come on....sports bras and golf ball aerodynamics....what would the world be without it? Source: here

B) Go here to view the positive contributions from the space program.

Here is a site covering some of the economic benefits of space exploration.

here is a healthy list for you

Actually, it's a tribute to flight controller John Aaron, astronaut Al Bean and constantly diverse simulations that the 12 crew and launch controllers got their telemetry back after the lightning strike. Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon had no idea where the SCE switch was that Bean used on Aaron's request to re-enable telemetry to Houston. The fuel cells which were knocked offline by the strike were revived immediately after MECO and staging, not in orbit.

cf Apollo 12 Mission History and Andrew Chaikin's A Man on the Moon.

First US space walk was also in 1965. Just a couple of months after the Soviets. We'd pretty much caught up to the Russians by then.

Now, I love space development as much as anybody (check my journal if you doubt it) but this utter bullshit of claiming that NASA still creates a tidal wave of spinoffs is a grotesque exaggeration that decreases the credibility of a once-true claim.

Let's take the first dozen or so alleged spinoffs from the first article linked above.

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.

Oh, please. After everything from the Challenger disaster to the constant ISS cost overruns, do you really expect us to want to use project management software from NASA?
As with most of these, the best they can do is to say, "NASA made a product that did this". They certainly can't say "X percent of the market uses this product". Now, speaking as a onetime economics major and a former workflow consultant, I've actually looked at NASA and DOD-created workflow and project managment solutions and I have found them to have absolutely foul interfaces, enterprise-level admin and platform costs, require dedicated boxen, and then provide third-rate functionality.
You know, about what you'ld expect from a government contractor.

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.

Yep, this one is all over the place, in use from PS/2s to digital watches. NOT!
Like IBM's early gallium-arsenide opto-electronics or the late Alpha chips, this is a pretty toy that is not only is too expensive for most real-world applications, but is also being done better by more, shall we say, frugal organizations. And, just in case you folks are forgetting, the supercomputer companies have been doing variations on this for years now.

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.

Okay, so I'll agree that this is important. But not only are most of the important concepts like NURBS things developed at places like Autodesk, but NASA's funding and development for this was, AFAIK, mostly in their aircraft research division, which is almost entirely separate from spaceflight development.

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.

Well, shucky-darn! A news client. Gawd knows there's a shortage of those! Why surely the two hundred or so other variants out there already would have been useless without NASA getting into the act.
Uh-huh. Right.

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 smo

Well duh, of course government spending on anything to create government jobs isn't going to improve the economy. Only democrats believe that.

But since similar space programs have been done before, perhaps one should (gasp!) look at past performance and ROI before setting up straw men to knock down.

Ever wonder why the US leads the world in many areas of computers, electronics, manufacturing, matereials, etc.? The space program isn't the only reason, but it's a big one.

Ever wonder what the real ROI is, or how many technologies and materials in your own home are spin-offs from space-related research?

But I guess the Bush-hating pastime is much more fun and emotionally satisfying than actually dealing with the facts. I just wouldn't expect it from a group of nerds. Oh wait. This is slashdot. Nevermind.

It was my understanding that quite a few NASA's space shuttle missions were classified, and the unclassified ones also have classified components to them. Probably just launching some spying satellites (optical, radar, signals intelligence (i.e. echelon)), but then again, who knows what else..

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

The shuttle has retrieved 2 satellites (STS 51-A), and repaired 2 satellites in orbit: Canada Telecom's Syncom IV (STS 51-D) and The Hubble space telescope (STS 61, STS 82, STS 103, STS 109.) Aside from the Hubble, the last time the Shuttle fixed or retrieved a satellite in orbit was in 1985.

And for your information there are several systems that have performed all of the mission of the shuttle. The most direct was the Saturn V used in the Apollo and SpaceLab programs.

Actually, looking through 100 missions the missions for the shuttle break down as follows: (My spreadsheet crashed during tabulation, here's the jist)

• Space Technology Evaluation: 6
• Orbital Experiment Platform: 30
• Satellite Launches: 30
• Space Station Construction: 10
• Space Station Support: 10
• Satellite retrievals/repairs: 6 (4 for hubble)
• Secret Squirrel DOD Projects: 10

Most shuttle missions where either launching a satellite or puttering in orbit to perform experiments. Very late in the day, it hoisted parts up to the ISS.

Off the top of my head I can tell you one other system that can hoist stuff into orbit and shuttle people in relative safety: The Russian Proton rocket (for lifting) and the Soyuz for people transport.