Cape Canaveral, Florida - Advocates of the US space
programme often point to innovations based on technology first used
in space - from inventions that made possible health technologies
like the heart pump to foods eaten in space that took off on Earth,
such as Tang powdered drink mix.
A hall of fame has even been established to recognize particularly
note-worthy developments.
As NASA retires the space shuttle later this year and places more
of an emphasis on the commercial spaceflight, the German Press Agency
dpa takes a look at some technologies that have emerged from the
space programme.
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- Satellite technology: Satellite technology is now used in such
everyday events as television broadcasting, mobile phones and global
positioning systems.
- Cochlear implants: A NASA engineer developed the device that is
implanted in the ear of deaf patients and sends electrical pulses
that allow the patient to hear. He used technology learned as an
engineer at the Kennedy Space Centre to design the device for his own
hearing problem.
- Food preservation: As part of studies done on growing food in
space during a 1995 shuttle mission, scientists developed a device
that removes the gas ethylene from the air. The gas speeds the
ripening of foods, causing them to decay sooner. The technology is
now marketed as an air purification device and is in use in
supermarkets, food making facilities, floral shops and health care
centres.
- 'Lifeshears': This rescue tool, also known by the brand name
Jaws of Life, is used by police and fire departments to cut people
out of wrecked cars. It uses the same hydraulic power that causes the
shuttle to shed its rocket boosters after launch.
- Cancer screening: The stereotactic breast biopsy system that
zones that guides a doctor's tools directly to a tumour to see if it
is cancerous was developed from advanced digital camera technology
used in the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Temper foam: The body shaping foam used in space shuttle seats
has acquired broad commercial uses, including sports helmets and
mattresses.
- Grooved pavement: The grooves in pavement were developed by NASA
to prevent hydroplaning on runways and are now used at commercial
airports as well as the Kennedy Space Centre's landing strip. The
technique has since been widely applied to highways as well.
- Motor sport: The same material used to make the heat shield on
the shuttle has been applied to NASCAR racing cars to protect the
drivers from excessive heat.
- Robotics: Robots similar to the Mars rovers have been put to use
by military and police to scan dangerous situations without risking
human life as well as to disable bombs.
- Scratch resistant lenses: Now commonly used in eyeglasses, the
technology was first used in astronaut helmets.
- Cordless tools: Tool and small appliance maker Black and Decker
developed these battery-operated tools for use by astronauts on the
moon.
- Heart defibrillators: The power source used to provide the shock
in the medical device was originally developed for space lasers.
- Remote medical monitoring system: A kit system used to remotely
monitor patients was developed in part for use on the International
Space Station.
- Demining device: Using extra solid rocket propellant from the
shuttle, a company developed a low-cost flare to safely clear
landmines.
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