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Aerospace Technology Spinoffs

Aerospace technology has proven useful in a number of fields and disciplines. In addition to aerospace itself, the latest technology development in aerospace can be used in aerospace technology spinoffs, which are secondary uses of a technology that was developed for use in the aerospace field.

While one of NASA's primary goals is peaceful exploration of space, NASA also seeks to:

involve the educational community in its endeavors to inspire America's students
research to develop technology with other agencies and organizations to keep America capable and competitive
study the Earth to understand global change, enabling the world to address environmental issues.

NASA's aerospace technology spinoffs are used in homes and work places around the world and improve the lives of countless people. NASA's goals with aerospace technology spinoffs are to make people's lives:

more comfortable
more efficient
more enjoyable.

Aerospace technology spinoffs can occur in one of six ways:

Direct Use: This occurs when NASA technology is incorporated directly into a product or process.
Employee Spinoff: This occurs when NASA or contractor employees take a technology and develop it in a way that can be used commercially.
Facilitating Commercialization: This occurs when NASA testing and use make the technology known and desired.
Indirect NASA Assistance: This occurs when other organizations provide the technology to NASA for further research or development.
Making a Market: This occurs when NASA increases the development and production of a technology that can have broader use. Some products may first require modification.
Spinoff Resulting From Regular NASA Activity: This occurs as a result of activities of NASA scientists and engineers. This can include papers or articles that lead to interest in the technology for other uses.

In this section, we'll cover specific aerospace technology spinoffs. We'll discuss how they work, what they do to improve lives and more.

Advanced Pacemakers

The advanced pacemaker aids the medical community greatly. Pacemakers are devices that are implanted in people to restore normal heartbeat rhythm.

Aerospace technology is responsible for the development of the first long-life pacemaker battery. Additionally, aerospace technology makes it possible to re-program pacemakers without removing them or requiring surgery, as was necessary in the past.

Those with heart rhythm disorders and the pacemaker industry at large, which is over a $1 billion a year industry, have benefited from the technology of the advanced pacemaker.

Laser Angioplasty

Laser angioplasty is another aerospace technology spinoff that benefits the medical community. Laser angioplasty uses a laser that was originally developed for satellite-based atmospheric study, specifically of the ozone layer and measurement of gases in the atmosphere.

This laser is now also used to eliminate blockages in arteries without destroying the walls of the arteries. The laser can also be used in treating vision problems and in orthopedics and neurosurgery.

Cardiac arrest can be prevented in countless people through the use of laser angioplasty.

Breast Biopsy System

Health and medicine have been greatly advanced through the discovery of the breast biopsy system. The system allows a biopsy to be done using a small puncture of a needle rather than full-fledged surgery as is required for traditional biopsies.

The technology used in this system was originally developed for the Hubble Telescope. Pain, scarring and a great deal of money are saved by women and the health care industry through the use of the breast biopsy system.

Resources

NASA (1997). Aerospace Technology Spinoffs. Retrieved January 18, 2008, from the NASA Web site: http://seds.org/technology/software/ussfspn.pdf.