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An Annual Report National Aeronautics and Space Administration by James J. Haggerty Office of Space and Acknowledgements: Terrestrial Applications James E. Beebe, Ph.D., Informatics Technology Transfer Division Information Systems Company for coordinating the preparation of this report; Beveridge and Associates, Inc for design and production, and William P.Taub for assistance with photography. February 1979 W r sale by the Sul~erintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Stock NO. 033-000-007574 Technology is knowledge, the techni- cal "know-how" employed by a soci- ety to produce things that improve the quality of human life. Like other forms of knowledge, it is transferable; once developed, technology can be applied to uses different-and often remote-from the original application. Thus, the technology that NASA has developed in more than two decades of space and aeronautical research constitutes a valuable national re- source, a bank of knowledge available for secondary utilization, or "spinoff." NASA mainline programs, by their challenging nature, are particularly demanding of technological advance; meeting their goals has forced extraordinary advancements in virtually every scientific and technological dis- cipline. For that reason, the wealth of aerospace-generated knowledge available for transfer is exceptionally diverse, and much of i t is readily applicable to secondary use over a broad spectrum of public needs and conveniences. Through its Congressionally- mandated Technology Utilization Program, NASA seeks to promote wider use of this technological re- source. The program provides a link between the technology bank and those in either the private or public sectors who might be able to re-use the technology productively. Its aim is to accelerate the transfer process, to bring to the marketplace sooner those spinoffs which might eventually occur in the normal course of events, and to gain thereby more immediate economic benefit in terms of new products and new jobs. The program has been remarkably successful. Since its inception 17 years ago, thousands of spinoff prod- ucts and processes have emerged. Some of these innovations bring only moderate increments of economic gain or lifestyle improvement, but many others amount to significant public benefits, with economic values often running to millions of dollars. Collectively, spinoffs provide a sub- stantial bonus return on the funds invested in aerospace research. This publication is intended to increase public awareness of the resource that is NASA's technology bank and its potential for further pub- lic benefit. It is devoted primarily to the NASA technology transfer pro- cess, but in the interests of perspec- tive it also describes related areas of NASA endeavor. Section 1 consists of a resume of NASA's current mainline programs. These programs are producing direct public benefit through direct applica- tion of technology; at the same time, they are contributing to indirect benefit-spinoff-by generating new technology which may find secondary application in the future. Section 2 is the focal point of this volume. It contains a representative sampling of spinoff products and processes employed in various avenues of everyday life, and i t de- scribes briefly the NASA technology from which these transfers derived. Section 3 details the mechanisms of - the technology transfer process, in- cluding the means by which NASA seeks to stimulate technology utiliza- tion. Also described are NASA's ac- tivities in a related area of technology transfer: provision of assistance to agencies interested in exploiting the benefit potential of satellite remote sensing technology. Floyd I. Roberson, Director Technology Transfer Division Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications National Aeronautics and Space Administration February 1979 Spinoff 1979 An Annual Report Foreword Inside Cover Introduction 3 Aerospace Aims Space Shuttle: Keystone of a New Era 6 1 Flight Plan for Tomorrow 14 To the Planets and Beyond 18 Transportation Construction Health and Medicine Industrial Productivity Home and Consumer Products Community Service 94 Technology Transfer Putting Technology to Work 106 3 An illustrated su mmaryof NASA's major aeronautical and space research programs, I which are broadening human knowledge, expanding the American technology base, oon to debut, NASA's Sp I Transportation System affords broader opportunity for exploiting the promise of space This year the U.S. space program marks its 21st anniversary, a mile- \ stone traditionally associated with the dawning of maturity. Appropri- ately, the American space effort is approaching an era of maturity, a time of expanding capability to do useful work in space and widen the spectrum of Earth benefits. The key to greater usefulness in space is NASA's Space Transporta- tion System, the principal element of which is the Space Shuttle. More than seven years in development, the Shuttle is now undergoing final ground testing preparatory to first orbital flights. 4- A giant step in technology advance- - ment, the Shuttle differs from ~ r e v i - Space Shuttle: -. ous space vehicles in that its iwo principal elements--the manned Orbiter and the solid rockets which boost it-are reusable. Repetitive use of the equipment, coupled with new supporting facilities, makes ac- cess to space a matter of routine. of four Orbiters to spacelift a far greater number of payloads annu- ally, significantly elevating NASA's " equal importance is the economy afforded by the Shuttle system. Economy takes several forms. Re-use of both the Orbiter and its boosters will virtually eliminate one-shot launch vehicles. Because the Orblter lands aircraft-fashion on a runway, the expensive sea fleets formerly employed for recovery of - 7 , r ) " * I ". ', -A. . i ~ x ~ f - i % , * w -..27-&&*h --&. Lb - - & lltes in orblt or to bring them back to Earth for rework, thus extending their useful lives; that represents large-scale savings In replacement costs. These multiple cost reduc- tions allow greater use of available funding for beneficial work in space. Another important aspect of the Space Shuttle is its flexibility, its abil- ity to perform many different tasks, @cludlng some never before ac- complished. From bases on either coast, it can deposit satellites in any desired orbit. It can also serve as an orbital launch facility to send inter- Spaceport East Once the site of Apollo launches, Kennedy Space Center in Florida has undergone facelifting to accommo- date Space Shuttle operations. In left photo, the huge central structure is the assembly building where the Shuttle Orbiter, its large external fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters are readied for flight. After these main elements are mated together atop a / mobile launcher, the complete sys- tem-Shuttle and launcher-is trun- dled to the launch pad by a massive planetary spacecraft into deep space trajectories. I t can make a short trip to orbit when Indicated, or it can stay aloft as long as 30 days when requirements so dictate. A particularly interesting feature of the Shuffle Is its ability to serve as a space construction base. This opens up an entirely new realm of space potential: erection of large struc- tures in orblt to serve Important Earth needs. Among examples under consideration are huge antennas for far-reaching advancement of com- munications technology; habitable Ground Turnaround Back from a space mission, the Orbi- ter is towed to this Orbiter Processing Facility adjacent to the assembly building. Here, in a "clean room" en- vironment, the spacecraft is first "safed" by removal of leftover fuel and disconnection of explosive act- facilities for manufacture of certain items better produced In the gravity- free environment; and space-based power stations for trapping the sun's energy and converting i t to Earth-use electricity. The first 21 years of American space flight were dramatically eventful and highly productive. With the Shuttle's wide range of capabilities, the re- maining 21 years of this century hold even greater promise for bounty from space. uating devices. Then the Orbiter's var- ious components are inspected, ser- viced and refurbished. With new payloads installed, the Orbiter is towed to the assembly building to start anew the prelaunch cycle of mat- ing, checkout and fueling. Turn- around time, from landing to re- launch, is only two weeks. tracked transporter. Prelaunch checkout and blastoff is controlled by automated equipment in the launch center, situated to the right of the tall assembly building; final countdown takes only two and a half hours, com- pared with 28 for Apollo missions. After its trip into space, the Orbiter re- turns to land on the 15,000-foot run- way visible at upper left. Initial Shuttle flights will operate from Kennedy , Space Center; a similar West Coast spaceport is planned at Vandenberg 9 Air Force Base, California. L. Vibration Tests Shuttle components have been un- dergoing a variety of ground tests as a prelude to flight. In left photo, the Orbiter is being lowered into a 36- story vibration test facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, for joining with the already-installed external fuel tank. Suspended from a large over- head truss, the mated vehicle was subjected to vibrations applied by computer-directed "exciters." Sen- ' sors recorded the characteristics of the vibrations as they passed from one area of the vehicle to another. Several months of such testing ver- ified the Shuttle's control system de- sign by predicting how it will react to -,-*'the severe vibrations expected during launch and flight to orbit. Orbiter Fleet The initial fleet of Shuttle Orbiters will consist of four spacecraft, named for sea vessels of earlier days which were engaged in world exploration. First to fly in space will be the Columbia; subsequent Orbiters will be named Challenger, Discovery and Atlantis. The original Orbiter, the Enterprise shown below, is a test vehicle not equipped for orbital flight; it was used for approach and landing tests in 1977 and for vibration testing in 1978.
