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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Compact unit supplies air longer than compressed-air unit. Emergency breathing apparatus stores air as cryogenic liquid instead of usual compressed gas. Intended for firefighting or rescue operations becoming necessary during planned potentially hazardous procedures.
Joint reduces assembly time and eliminates fumbling. Self-aligning coupler easy to use for people wearing heavy gloves or other restrictive clothing. Consists of two threaded sections, one with blade, other with slot - joined by threaded collar. Blade fits precisely in slot. Notch in blade engages pin in slot to form temporary attachment. Collar turned on continuous thread of joined sections to form tight, rigid joint. Designed for assembly of structures by astronauts in space suits, coupler used on Earth by firefighters wearing protective garments, technicians handling hazardous materials, and others working underwater or in other difficult environments.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Technology Utilization (TU) Division of the Office of Commercial Programs has been quite successful in directing the transfer to technology into the public sector. NASA developments of particular interest have been those in the areas of aerodynamics and aviation transport, safety, sensors, electronics and computing, and satellites and remote sensing. NASA technology has helped law enforcement, firefighting, public transportation, education, search and rescue, and practically every other sector of activity serving the U.S. public. NASA works closely with public service agencies and associations, especially those serving local needs of citizens, to expedite technology transfer benefits. A number of examples exist to demonstrate the technology transfer method and opportunities of NASA spinoffs to public service.
Self-adjusting choke for nozzle enables issuing stream of liquid to remain coherent, despite fluctuations in flow, along greater distance than possible with same nozzle without choke. Flexible membrane with slanted orifices deforms according to upstream pressure in flowing liquid. Advantageous for firefighting, making it possible to direct more concentrated flow of water at flame or hotspot. Also used in mining and for transferring liquids.
Improved composite flexible blanket insulation is quilt of layers of advanced lightweight insulating materials. Each layer designed to optimize contribution to inhibition of radiative, conductive, and/or convective transfer of heat from hot side to cold side. Intended to protect spacecraft against heating during reentry into atmosphere, used on Earth where requirements for lightweight, flexible, highly efficient insulating materials protect people and equipment against temperatures up to about 1,650 degrees C. Such as, furnace curtains and insulating layers on firefighting equipment and protective clothing.
Small, light, highly mobile robotic vehicles called "microrovers" use sensors and artificial intelligence to perform complicated tasks autonomously. Vehicle navigates, avoids obstacles, and picks up objects using reactive control scheme selected from among few preprogrammed behaviors to respond to environment while executing assigned task. Under development for exploration and mining of other planets. Also useful in firefighting, cleaning up chemical spills, and delivering materials in factories. Reactive control scheme and principle of behavior-description language useful in reducing computational loads in prosthetic limbs and automotive collision-avoidance systems.
Proposed wind-direction indicator read easily by distant observers. Indicator emits bright flashes of light separated by interval of time proportional to angle between true north and direction from which wind blowing. Timing of flashes indicates direction of wind. Flashes, from high-intensity stroboscopic lights seen by viewers at distances up to 5 miles or more. Also seen more easily through rain and fog. Indicator self-contained, requiring no connections to other equipment. Power demand satisfied by battery or solar power or both. Set up quickly to provide local surface-wind data for aircraft pilots during landing or hovering, for safety officers establishing hazard zones and safety corridors during handling of toxic materials, for foresters and firefighters conducting controlled burns, and for real-time wind observations during any of variety of wind-sensitive operations.
Thermal-insulation blankets withstand repeated exposure to temperatures up to 2,000 degrees C. Thin, light in weight, and flexible. Developed to protect proposed aerospacecraft like Aeroassisted Space Transfer Vehicle and National Aerospace Plane, exposed to temperatures higher than those on surface of Space Shuttle during reentry into atmosphere of Earth. Also useful as furnace insulation and in firefighters' clothing. Sewing threads made of silicon carbide yarn essential components of blankets.
System for remote control of robotic land vehicle requires only small radio-communication bandwidth. Twin video cameras on vehicle create stereoscopic images. Operator views cross-polarized images on two cathode-ray tubes through correspondingly polarized spectacles. By use of cursor on frozen image, remote operator designates path. Vehicle proceeds to follow path, by use of limited degree of autonomous control to cope with unexpected conditions. System concept, called "computer-aided remote driving" (CARD), potentially useful in exploration of other planets, military surveillance, firefighting, and clean-up of hazardous materials.
Polyimide foamed into lightweight padding material for use in helmets. Exhibits increased resistance to ignition, combustion, and impact, and it outgasses less. Foam satisfies offgassing and toxicity requirements of NASA/JSC criteria (NHB80601B). Helmets containing this improved padding material used by firefighters, police, offshore drilling technicians, construction workers, miners, and race-car drivers.
Shoulder joint allows full range of natural motion: wearer senses little or no resisting force or torque. Developed for space suit, joint offers advantages in protective garments for underwater work, firefighting, or cleanup of hazardous materials.
Proposed electronic instrument displays information on diver's or firefighter's face mask. Includes mask, prism, electronic readouts, transceiver and control electronics. Mounted at periphery of diver's field of view to provide data on elapsed time, depth, pressure, and temperature. Provides greater safety and convenience to user.
The crew of STS-46, Commander Loren J. Shriver, Pilot Andrew M. Allen, and Mission Specialists Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Jeffrey A. Hoffman, Claude Nicollier, Marsha S. Ivins, and Franco Malerba are seen at various stages of their training. Footage includes firefighting training, helmet fit and T-38 checkout, bailout training in the weightless environment training facility, and remote manipulator training. The crew uses a computer simulation and the shuttle engineering simulator to practice using the tethered satellite system.
The crew of STS-47, Commander Robert L. Gibson, Pilot Curtis L. Brown, Payload Commander Mark C. Lee, Mission Specialists N. Jan Davis, Jay Apt, and Mae C. Jemison, and Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri, is seen during various parts of their training, including SAREX training in the Full Fuselage Trainer (FFT), firefighting training. A familiarization flight in the KC-135, a food tasting, photo training in the Crew Compartment Trainer, and bailout training in the Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) are also shown.
Halon 1301 (CF3Br) has been used for decades as the primary fire suppression agent for areas where powder agents cannot be used because of concerns for sensitive equipment. Halon 1301 is an excellent extinguishing agent, effective at about 3% in air and quite non-toxic. It has an effective exposure limit much greater than its extinguishing concentration, so it can be used in normally occupied areas. The ability of a chemical to destroy stratospheric ozone is its ozone-depletion potential (ODP). ODP is the amount of ozone destroyed per pound of a chemical, relative to the standard CFC-11 with an ODP = 1.0. Because halons have been implicated in stratospheric ozone depletion, their production was stopped at the end of 1995 under the provisions of the Montreal Protocol plus later amendments. In the US, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Presidential directives, and DoD Directive 6050.9 implemented this phaseout. These regulations and penalties have provided strong incentives for US businesses to decrease CFC use. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 mandates high Federal taxes on CFCs and halons, designed to price them out of the market. The taxes also capture for the government the windfall profits that would otherwise go to producers as scarcity drives up prices. Several replacements have been developed for Halon 1301. One is carbon dioxide, which has been used as a firefighting agent for many years. However, a high concentration of carbon dioxide is necessary to inert fuels. The effective concentration for inerting with carbon dioxide is approximately 29%, which is above the concentration lethal to humans. HFC-227ea is being used extensively to replace Halon 1301 systems in nominally occupied areas and some normally unoccupied areas. However, since the effective concentration of HFC-227ea is about three to four times that of Halon 1301 the extinguishing systems have to be larger and new extinguishing systems have to be installed. HFC-125 is also being sold as an extinguishing agent (Nimitz). It has problems similar to HFC-227ea, with a greater concentration needed for effectiveness and the need to use a larger system. This is a particularly onerous penalty in aircraft and spacecraft, where weight and space are extremely important, and substitution is often impossible in existing aircraft due to space limitations.
Thread Technology, Inc., developed the ZipNut, a fastening device that is pushed rather than turned. It was originally developed for space shuttle and space station applications. The ZipNut can be used for a variety of applications, including firefighting, aerospace, gas fittings, and manufacturing.
Gateway Technologies, Inc. is marketing and developing textile insulation technology originally developed by Triangle Research and Development Corporation. The enhanced thermal insulation stems from Small Business Innovation Research contracts from NASA's Johnson Space Center and the U.S. Air Force. The effectiveness of the insulation comes from the microencapsulated phase-change materials originally made to keep astronauts gloved hands warm. The applications for the product range from outer wear, housing insulation, and blankets to protective firefighting gear and scuba diving suits. Gateway has developed and begun marketing thermal regulating products under the trademark, OUTLAST. Products made from OUTLAST are already on the market, including boot and shoe liners, winter headgear, hats and caps for hunting and other outdoor sports, and a variety of men's and women's ski gloves.
The Mark VII MicroClimate Medical Personal Cooling system enables multiple sclerosis' victims, as well as cerebral palsy, spinabifida patients and others to lower their body temperatures. Although this is not a cure, cooling can produce a dramatic improvement in symptoms. The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America has placed cool suits in MS research care centers. This technology originated in the need for cooling systems in spa@esuits. "Cool Suits" are now used by hazardous materials workers, armored vehicle crews, firefighters and crop dusters. A surgical personal cooling system has also been developed for medical personnel working in hot operating room environments.