Rodent Research Contributes to Osteoporosis Treatments Ames Research
Rodent Research Contributes to Osteoporosis Treatments Ames Research Center Amgen Inc. Thousand Oaks, California NASA Technology NASA needs to learn how to protect bone density and muscle strength in astronauts while in space The Commercial Biomedical Testing Module (CBMT) developed at Ames houses mice for experimentation in microgravity to study the problem Technology Transfer Amgen, through Bio. Serve Space Technologies, arranged to test three treatments for maintaining bone health and density on mice aboard space shuttles Experiments traveled aboard missions in 2001, 2007, and 2011, yielding promising results Spinoff 2016 Benefits One of the three treatments is now available as Prolia, an osteoporosis treatment, and a second is in clinical trials Prolia is shown to increase bone density and significantly reduce risk of bone fractures Health and Medicine
Pressure Garments Save New Mothers’ Lives Ames Research Center Safe Motherhood San Francisco, California NASA Technology G-suits are worn by aviators and astronauts to prevent pooling of blood in lower body during extreme acceleration and reentry from orbit NASA discovered that similar compression garments can be used to treat women who experience severe bleeding after giving birth Technology Transfer In the 1990 s, the company ZOEX utilized NASA’s research to develop the Non-Inflatable Anti-Shock Garment Later, an obstetrics professor designed a similar garment, the Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG), to stabilize women suffering from post-natal bleeding until they can receive medical care Spinoff 2016 Benefits The NASG is backed by the World Health Organization and used in 20 countries. Mortality rate among women suffering obstetric hemorrhaging reduced by 50 percent in studies conducted in Egypt, Nigeria Garment can be used at least 70 times, which comes out to less than a dollar per application. Health and Medicine
Tool Kit Simplifies Development of High-Affinity Molecules Johnson Space Center AM Biotechnologies LLC Houston, Texas NASA Technology NASA will need new diagnostic capabilities to monitor astronauts’ health as they travel to Mars Antibodies, commonly used to detect biomarkers, degrade when exposed to radiation and are only viable for a few months Technology Transfer Benefits Short strands of DNA and RNA can fold themselves into three-dimensional structures called aptamers, which can be used for diagnostics, are impervious to radiation, and don’t degrade X-Aptamer Selection Kit, already being used by universities and industry, takes days, not weeks, to create the desired aptamers After securing an SBIR contract, AM Biotechnologies developed a new method to rapidly create precise diagnostic aptamers using micro-beads that aptamers stick to Spinoff 2016 X-Aptamers could be used to target drug treatments for cancer, other diseases One aptamer, Pegaptanib, approved by the FDA as a treatment for macular degeneration Health and Medicine
Space-Ready Spectrometer Offers Terrestrial Advantages Jet Propulsion Laboratory Brimrose Corporation Sparks, Maryland NASA Technology In the 1990 s, NASA was looking for a rugged spectrometer for a lander to be carried by the European Space Agency’s Rosetta comet orbiter Chemical composition analysis was to be conducted by spectroscopy in the near-infrared and visible light spectra Partnership Brimrose secured two SBIR contracts to make a space-ready acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) spectrometer, but NASA pulled out of the lander project Spectrometer made to be lightweight, energyefficient, and able to withstand extreme temperatures and radiation exposure Spinoff 2016 Benefits Brimorse’s Luminar AOTF analyzers now widely used by pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, healthcare, material science, oil companies New versions include touchscreens, longer battery life, and Linux compatibility Company uses AOTF in other applications, including acousto-optic modulator flown on ISS Health and Medicine
Unmanned Research Aircraft Test Cutting-Edge Innovations Armstrong Flight Research Center Area-I Inc. Kennesaw, Georgia NASA Technology Circulation control wings were envisioned as a way for airplanes to take off on shorter runways Using increased amounts of high-pressure air over the leading and trailing edges of the wings, supplied either by the jet engines or separate compressors, aircraft using these wings have greater lift Technology Transfer Benefits Area-I secured Phase I and II SBIR funding from Armstrong to design an unmanned, medium-range, sub-scale aircraft for aerodynamics testing Prototype-Technology Evaluation Research Aircraft (PTERA) is the commercial version of the test aircraft Additional Phase I and II SBIR funding from Langley allowed the company to create a second sub-scale plane with a design to maximize data on stall causes and recovery US Navy, Air Force working with Area-I to develop other unmanned aerial vehicle airframes Spinoff 2016 PTERA is a low-cost, dependable, adaptable test bed, used by companies and universities Transportation
CFD Capabilities Zoom Past Visualization to Assist Cars, Consumers Langley Research Center Intelligent Light Rutherford, New Jersey NASA Technology Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) shows the interaction of fluids like air and water with solid structures NASA had been developing a solver to improve postprocessing and visualization capabilities Technology Transfer Benefits Through a series of SBIR contracts, Intelligent Light created visualization tools for steady and unsteady test results Field. View is a post-processing tool capable of providing specific, detailed information based on steady and unsteady data The ability to visualize large quantities of data makes it easier to determine where improvements can be made in the design of the bodies or the moving parts of vehicles or structures Widely used by aircraft designers, auto makers, and defense contractors Spinoff 2016 Users can quickly access and work with large amounts of remotely stored data Transportation
Lightweight, Ultra-Strong Nanotubes to Transform Industry Langley Research Center BNNT LLC Newport News, Virginia NASA Technology Carbon nanotubes are well known to provide strength, elasticity, and electrical conductivity Similar nanotubes, made of boron and nitrogen, can withstand even higher temperatures (up to 1, 650 °F), and also absorb radiation and have attracted NASA’s attention Technology Transfer Benefits A team of Langley scientists experimented with ways to mass-produce boron nitrogen nanotubes (BNNT) by bonding the elements together using a laser fired into a highly pressurized chamber BNNTs can now be produced in large quantities, up to 200 milligrams per hour Licensing NASA’s patented procedure, a new company formed to meet increasing interest in nanotube technologies Spinoff 2016 Now commercially available to researchers, with potential uses in protective gear, electrical insulation, soft-tissue cancer therapy NASA and BNNT LLC continue to work together to decrease production costs Transportation
Multidisciplinary Software to Help Take Aircraft to the Next Level Glenn Research Center University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan NASA Technology NASA has long been a leader in aviation and worked with industry to improve its engineering and design It’s becoming increasingly difficult to make major improvements to aircraft on a piece-by-piece basis because of how such changes affect the rest of the vehicle Technology Transfer NASA created the multidisciplinary analysis and optimization (MDAO) process to look how aircraft components function as a whole to find areas for improvement Leading Edge Aeronautics Research for NASA (LEARN), part of the agency’s Aeronautics Research Institute, is using MDAO to design a new trussbraced wing aircraft with better fuel efficiency Spinoff 2016 Benefits Open. MDAO is open source, publicly available software, now part of NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies Program The University of Michigan, among others, is using Open. MDAO to reduce noise from slats on aircraft wings, while the wind energy community is using the program to build high-fidelity models of more efficient turbines Transportation
Orbital Trajectory Analyzer Takes Mission Planning to New Heights Goddard Space Flight Center Applied Defense Solutions Inc Columbia, Maryland NASA Technology Complex mathematical equations are required to determine the best trajectory for a spacecraft launch When NASA needed a new program for planning launch trajectories, a team at Goddard decided to create a new system to automate the process Technology Transfer Benefits The General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) was developed by NASA, contains 540, 000 lines of C++ code, and was beta tested for several years before a flight-qualified edition was first released in 2013 The free, open source software has been embraced by universities and international space program partners GMAT already has been used on four NASA missions, with two more in the pipeline More than 30 peer-reviewed publications have cited analysis performed using GMAT in the first few years of availability The program is compatible with similar programs used by aerospace industry partners Spinoff 2016 Transportation
Open Source Aircraft Design Software Helps Industry, Hobbyists Langley Research Center Desktop Aeronautics Inc. Palo Alto, California NASA Technology Aircraft design has long used computer-aided design (CAD) software, which required building analysisspecific geometries that couldn’t be changed in isolation Only engineers and professional designers had access to CAD systems Technology Transfer Benefits Design engineers from NASA, California Polytechnic State University, and Silicon Valley created a design tool that allows for more flexible drafting capabilities Open. VSP is free, open source software available for professionals and novices alike Their program, Open. VSP, or vehicle sketch pad, provides 3 D models of conceptual vehicles Changes to the overall design can be made by adjusting a single parameter Spinoff 2016 The program is similar to proprietary ones used by aviation companies and can be used in concert with those systems Government agencies, universities use Open. VSP as learning and design tool Transportation
Rice Crop Models Stabilize Global Markets, Enable Efficient Irrigation Stennis Space Center Applied Geo. Solutions Newmarket, New Hampshire NASA Technology A spike in global food prices in 2007 and 2008 caused shortages and unrest around the world Rice production is especially hard to predict, resulting in market volatility Data from satellites built by NASA and others can help track crop growth and health Technology Transfer Benefits Applied Geo. Solutions approached NASA with an idea for web-based software combining satellite images and historical data to predict rice crop growth RDSS provides crop producers around the world with real-time information on expected crop yields, allowing governments and investors to make better decisions, stabilizing the market Stennis Space Center provided Phase I and II SBIR contracts to create the Rice Decision Support System (RDSS) RDSS also uses data from European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Spinoff 2016 In the United States, rice farmers are using RDSS data to implement more sustainable water management practices Public Safety
GPS Sensor Web Helps Forecasters Warn of Monsoon Flash Floods Jet Propulsion Laboratory San Francisco Weather Forecast Office San Francisco, California NASA Technology NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office funded a network of sensors to be an early warning system for dangerous weather and seismic events The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography are partners in the project Technology Transfer 37 Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors have been added to NOAA’s meteorological GPS network throughout Southern California, reading airborne humidity and seismic activity GPS signal delays indicate humidity Moisture, temperature, and air pressure data are collected at each site and broadcast every 30 minutes Spinoff 2016 Benefits The monsoons in the American Southwest are dangerous and hard to predict With timely atmospheric data from across the region, San Francisco and Los Angeles/Oxnard Weather Forecast Offices can better predict storms and issue flash flood warnings, alerting emergency response teams and saving lives Public Safety
Analytic Tool Simplifies Metal Fracture Assessments Marshall Space Flight Center Quest Integrity Group LLC Boulder, Colorado NASA Technology Engineers need to know the fracture toughness of materials used to build spacecraft in order to determine when defects might cause structural failures Deriving fracture toughness for lightweight metals required a costly and time-consuming analysis Technology Transfer An engineer at Marshall created a software program for deriving fracture toughness based on the American Society for Testing and Materials standard for testing surface cracks Six hundred nonlinear models and solutions were automated to arrive at the fracture toughness for specific-sized cracks in various metals Program is publicly available for free download Spinoff 2016 Benefits Tool for Analysis of Surface Cracks (TASC) performs in 20 to 30 minutes calculations that otherwise would take four or five hours Quest Integrity Group, one of 670 users in 60 countries, relies on TASC for risk analysis Recipient of NASA’s Software of the Year Award in 2014 Public Safety
Mars Methane Detector Identifies Harmful Gas Leaks Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pacific Gas and Electric Company San Francisco, California NASA Technology In preparation for the Mars Science Laboratory, NASA developed a device that could detect methane, carbon dioxide, and water The Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) became one of three instruments in the Sample Analysis at Mars suite on the Curiosity rover Technology Transfer Methane, the primary ingredient in natural gas, is a prevalent and potent greenhouse gas Natural gas leaks from underground pipes can be difficult to find A 2013 reimbursable Space Act Agreement between JPL and Pipeline Research Council International led to the development of a small methane-detecting spectrometer based on the TLS Spinoff 2016 Benefits The handheld methane sensor can detect the gas at a level of 10 parts per billion, 100 times more sensitive than previous tools Tested by Pacific Gas &Electric, the device is lightweight, portable, and capable of sensing leaks from 100 feet away Addition of a voice read-out improves efficiency Public Safety
Hydrogen Detection Tape Saves Time and Lives Kennedy Space Center Hy. Sense Technology LLC Rockledge, Florida NASA Technology Hydrogen is the most efficient propellant, but it leaks easily, is highly flammable, and hard to detect NASA has explored numerous methods over the years for detecting leaks, inventing several technologies along the way Technology Transfer With funding from Kennedy, the Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida (UCF) created a tape that changes color when exposed to hydrogen NASA and UCF obtained several patents and passed the licenses to Nahid Mohajeri, one of the technology’s creators, who founded Hy. Sense to commercialize it Spinoff 2016 Benefits Intellipigment, sold by Hy. Sense, is used by oil refineries, manufacturers, chemical plants, and other industries that rely on hydrogen The tape can detect a leak of pure hydrogen within 10 seconds Recipient of an R&D 100 Award in 2014 and first place in the CAT 5 Innovation Competition Public Safety
Single-Photon Lidar Maps Ground Features Quickly, Efficiently Goddard Space Flight Center Sigma Space Corporation Lanham, Maryland NASA Technology By 1994, NASA developed a single-photon-sensitive laser ranging system, used to determine the location of satellites In 2001 NASA’s Airborne Multi-Kilohertz Photon. Counting Microlaser Altimeter turned the technology toward Earth to map its surface Technology Transfer A former Goddard employee, who worked on both projects, joined Sigma Space, which also worked with NASA on many laser ranging projects and had licensed two related NASA patents They developed high-resolution 3 D-imaging lidars capable of rapidly mapping Earth’s surface The systems use 100 streams of laser pulses to make 3. 2 million measurements per second Spinoff 2016 Benefits The company’s airborne lidar imaging systems are used to gather and sell data Maps of large areas are fast and affordable, enabling military reconnaissance, environmental monitoring, surveying, infrastructure planning Sigma is providing imaging technology for NASA’s Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite 2 Public Safety
Temperature Sensors Cement Integrity of Bridges Glenn Research Center Pile Dynamics Inc. Cleveland, Ohio NASA Technology Glenn Research Center was tapped by the White House for the Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative to provide mentoring to local businesses Glenn paired NASA technical experts with small companies to help solve problems Technology Transfer Pile Dynamics Inc. (PDI) needed assistance selecting a strong, waterproof, airtight glue for thermal sensors it uses to monitor poured concrete shafts as they cure Experts from Glenn tested a glue for its strength and ability to keep water away from sensitive electronics, finding it to be incredibly strong Spinoff 2016 Benefits Thermal Integrity Profilers are attached to rebar and collect data within concrete piles after pouring Irregularities in temperature can indicate defects, which might compromise strength PDI’s sensors have been used in more than 40 projects around the globe Public Safety
Primer Stops Corrosion without Requiring Rust Removal Kennedy Space Center Surtreat Holding LLC Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania NASA Technology The concrete at Kennedy Space Center is exposed to damp, salty air and blistering heat, which causes quick corrosion of infrastructure Preventing corrosion is usually confined to dealing with the symptoms, not the underlying electrochemical causes Technology Transfer Benefits Through a 1996 Space Act Agreement, Kennedy tested several corrosion inhibitors and found that a Surtreat product whose vapor migrated from a concrete surface to the underlying rebar was one of the most effective Volatile corrosion inhibitor (VCI) does not require rust removal, which can cost $5 per square foot Surtreat went on to market the product and recently developed an epoxy primer that works on the same principle and can be directly applied to rusty steel Spinoff 2016 On a rusty surface, application costs about 10 cents per square foot over a 20 -year lifespan, versus 57 cents over 10 years for a basic primer US Department of Transportation and Navy are interested in VCI to protect bridges, boats Public Safety
NODE+ Platform Integrates Sensors with Smartphones Ames Research Center Variable Inc. Chattanooga, Tennessee NASA Technology A researcher at Ames was developing sensors based on carbon nanotubes when the Department of Homeland Security requested a sensor capable of detecting dangerous gases using smartphones Engineer George Yu was subcontracted to build the smartphone interface at Ames Technology Transfer Benefits Most of the design for the microprocessor, memory, communication protocol, back-end web structure, data storage, and cloud technology Yu designed for Ames he later incorporated into his own smartphonebased sensing technology NODE cylinders can house two sensors at once, and data can be recorded on any smart device NODE+ platform integrates a line of off-the-shelf sensors with a smartphone via Bluetooth Spinoff 2016 Sensors include infrared thermometers, color referencers, motion sensors, barcode readers, and others that detect various harmful gases or measure light or humidity, among others Recognized by numerous tech publications Consumer Goods
Precision Coffeemaker Adapts Brews to Beans, Taste Ames Research Center Blossom Coffee San Francisco, California NASA Technology An intern at Ames worked on autonomous robotics, learning about proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers, embedded communications, and other principles of robotics engineering PID controllers continually monitor and correct the output of a controlled system via feedback loops Technology Transfer The intern later helped found Blossom Coffee, applying his experience with PID controllers to control temperatures in coffee-making machines The advanced machine also uses embedded communications to synchronize brewing processes with recipes stored in the cloud Spinoff 2016 Benefits Blossom One Brewer is a specialty, high-end coffeemaker that can control water temperature to within 2 degrees and can keep all coffee grinds within 10 degrees of each other, ensuring consistent results Brewing system automatically corrects for altitude, barometric pressure, ambient temperature Consumer Goods
CO 2 Recovery System Saves Brewers Money, Puts Bubbles into Beer Johnson Space Center Pioneer Energy Lakewood, Colorado NASA Technology In the mid-1990 s, Johnson’s In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) team developed technology to break down elements abundant on Mars into resources for human exploration Some of this technology manipulated gases’ temperature and pressure to liquefy them Technology Transfer As a NASA contractor and then as founder of Pioneer Aeronautics, Robert Zubrin worked with Johnson’s ISRU team to develop such systems Zubrin continued to build on that technological acumen after founding Pioneer Energy Smaller craft brewers don’t have the ability to capture and store carbon dioxide created during fermentation for later use in carbonation Spinoff 2016 Benefits The CO 2 Craft Brewery Recovery System can capture enough carbon dioxide to produce 60, 000 barrels of beer annually, saving craft brewers about $15, 000 per year The resulting carbon dioxide is purer and of a higher quality than CO 2 from other sources Greenhouse gas pollution is decreased Consumer Goods
Space Blanket-Inspired Cases Protect Expensive Devices Marshall Space Flight Center Salt Cases LLC Portland, Maine NASA Technology In the early days of the space program, NASA developed metalized polyethylene terephthalate (MPET), a flexible reflective material to protect spacecraft from solar radiation The lightweight material also serves as an insulation to protect from large swings in temperature Technology Transfer Benefits MPET first became available commercially as “space blankets, ” used in emergency situations and to help runners maintain body temperature after long races Salt Cases incorporate MPET to safeguard smartphones and tablets from hot and cold temperatures Material is also effective for reflecting heat away from electronic devices or protecting them from bitter cold The cases protect electronic devices from temperatures in excess of 95 °F or below 32 °F Batteries exposed to extreme temperatures lose power, have shorter lifespan Spinoff 2016 Consumer Goods
Antimicrobial Agent Updates Ancient Industry of Prayer Mats Johnson Space Center TIMEZ 5 Global Inc. Calgary, Alberta NASA Technology Chitosan is one of the most abundant organic compounds on Earth, found in the exoskeletons of arthopods NASA studies in space demonstrated its ability to boost plant immunity to pathogens and increase human white blood cells’ immunity to endotoxins Technology Transfer Benefits The NASA test results prompted one engineer to use chitosan to create the world’s first antimicrobial film, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control The TIMEZ 5 Prayer and Meditation Mat has a chitosan film on its bottom layer, with microholes allowing traces to pass through the whole mat TIMEZ 5 hired him as a consultant, and his method for using the steam of a chitosan solution to create an antimicrobial film was applied to the company’s prayer and meditation mat Eliminates mold, dust, bacteria, and fungi, which can cause respiratory and other problems Spinoff 2016 TIMEZ 5 now has customers in three dozen countries and employs about 150 people Consumer Goods
Heat-Reflecting Material Regulates Body Temperature Ames Research Center Trizar Technology Mooresville, North Carolina NASA Technology NASA developed a new kind of heat shield technology as it explored the feasibility of various reusable launch vehicles Protective Ceramic Coating Material (PCCM) has heat-radiating agents and can be applied as a light, paper-thin coating on any surface Technology Transfer Benefits Changes made by Emisshield, which licensed the technology from Ames, and Virginia Tech increased PCCM’s shelf life, optimized it for use on metals, and adapted it for use with a spray gun With a license from Emissield, Trizar Technology developed a way to use PCCM to line or coat clothing to reflect heat Manufacturers became interested in using PCCM as coatings for substrates, power generators, commercial ovens for temperature regulation and energy savings Spinoff 2016 The company also is working to develop a coating to be used on outdoor furniture and child seats to keep objects at ambient temperature Future work could include PCCM-woven fibers Consumer Goods
Modified Monitor Provides Glasses-Free 3 D for Pilots, Gamers Langley Research Center Dimension Technologies Inc. Rochester, New York NASA Technology Currently, pilots need to mentally translate information displayed on two-dimensional screens into a three-dimensional world Previous efforts to design a 3 D display were limited by depth and clarity of image Technology Transfer Benefits Through a series of SBIR contracts, Dimension Technologies created a glasses-free 3 D monitor with realistic image depth DTI Mission Critical 2 D/3 D could be incorporated into cockpits of planes and later used to help dock capsules with the International Space Station Later iterations incorporated eye-tracking capabilities to maintain 3 D clarity for two pilots simultaneously, even if they move around in their seats Monitors can switch between 2 D and 3 D display mode Spinoff 2016 Pilots get a better sense of traffic at busy airports The technology is being deployed in the video game industry Consumer Goods
Flock of Nanosatellites Provides a Daily Picture of Earth Ames Research Center Planet Labs Inc. San Francisco, California NASA Technology Historically, satellites have been large, heavy objects requiring considerable resources to build and launch A series of technological breakthroughs resulted in smaller, lightweight craft at lower costs, including Cube. Sats, measuring just four inches per side Technology Transfer Inspired by Cube. Sats, a trio of Ames scientists and engineers continued to refine the small satellite concept, eventually forming Planet Labs Their nanosatellites, using laptop batteries for power and smartphone semiconductors for electronics, are smaller still and capable of snapping continuous three- to five-meter resolution images Spinoff 2016 Benefits Planet Labs’ Dove fleet of satellites provide a snapshot of Earth every 24 hours Thanks to their tiny size, Dove satellites can be launched as secondary payloads Imaging provides up-to-the-minute data, useful for insurance claims, environmental tracking Energy and Environment
Multispectral Satellite Imagery Shows Farmers’ Fields in New Light Goddard Space Flight Center Satshot Inc. Fargo, North Dakota NASA Technology In the 1980 s, NASA provided funding to the University of Minnesota to create a set of applications to use satellite imaging and geospatial data to monitor forests At the time, servers weren’t powerful or fast enough to distribute large images quickly or widely Technology Transfer The team from the University of Minnesota created Map. Server, an open source development environment, for the forest project Years later, Satshot, a fledgling company, was looking for a way to provide farmers detailed images of their fields—often taken by NASA satellites—but had no mechanism for distribution Map. Server provided an online map delivery system Spinoff 2016 Benefits Satshot was Map. Server’s first commercial user Satshot remains focused on precision agriculture through remote sensing, using various spectral bands for detailed images of fields and crops Working with John Deere to integrate computer systems on tractors with the Satshot image archive Energy and Environment
Software Helps Restore Fire-Ravaged Habitats Goddard Space Flight Center Idaho Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pocatello, Idaho NASA Technology BLM is tasked with coordinating fire-fighting efforts on federally held lands and must submit a plan for stabilizing and restoring lands destroyed by fire NASA’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science program had an interest in wildfire abatement projects Technology Transfer Using cloud computing technologies to pool geospatial data from a multitude of sources, NASA created the Rehabilitation Capability Convergence for Ecosystem Recovery (RECOVER) Data is converted into a single, easy-to-understand visual interface accessible on a standard web browser Spinoff 2016 Benefits Using RECOVER, BLM can examine up to 20 geospatial datasets to create Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation plans quickly RECOVER can be used for containment efforts BLM created a smartphone and tablet-friendly version of the program to share information in real time Energy and Environment
Buildings for Manipulating Magnetism Revolutionize Magnetometers Ames Research Center Geometrics Inc. San Jose, California NASA Technology Two buildings at Ames were specially designed for testing space probes with highly sensitive magnetic instruments to ensure they wouldn’t wobble in orbit Magnetic fields could be altered by electrifying Helmholtz coils By 1990 s, buildings had fallen out of use Technology Transfer To save the buildings, a researcher found a company in need of a facility to test its magnetometers, used to measure magnetic fields Geometrics uses the facilities through a Space Act Agreement With the Helmholtz coils, magnetometers can be subjected to magnetic fields duplicating those found anywhere around the world Spinoff 2016 Benefits Geometrics’ magnetometers are used to detect underground lodes, planted explosives, and other objects, as well as magnetic signatures of the heart and brain The product is used to fine unexploded World War II ordinance in the North Sea, where wind farms are being built Energy and Environment
Cost-Saving Method Yields Solar Cells for Exploration, Gadgets Glenn Research Center Micro. Link Devices Niles, Illinois NASA Technology As NASA plans missions deeper into space, it’s also exploring the use of solar cells to generate power and as part of propulsion systems SBIR contracts have been awarded to advance technology in hopes of reducing costs Technology Transfer Micro. Link Devices has received multiple SBIR contracts from NASA toward developing a new method for growing inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cells Micro. Link’s cells are less costly to produce while remaining nearly as efficient as cells from other manufacturers Spinoff 2016 Benefits Micro. Link’s flexible, lightweight solar cells are already used by the military on backpacks as a portable source of energy to recharge batteries Recognized by several magazines for innovations in solar cell technology Currently working on incorporating panels into unmanned aerial vehicles Energy and Environment
Wide Area Thermal Imaging System Brings the Landscape into Focus Ames Research Center Xiomas Technologies Ypsilanti, Michigan NASA Technology Airborne cameras and sensors used to find forest fires all had the same flaw: They were easily overwhelmed by the intensity of a fire’s signal, resulting in washed-out images Improvements to existing technology helped, but NASA wanted a tool with more precise imaging Technology Transfer SBIR contracts from Ames and other federal agencies, as well as experience working with Ames on airborne sensors as a contractor, led engineer John Green to create Xiomas Technologies and its Wide Area Imager (WAI) aerial scanner WAI’s quantum-well infrared photo detector—a NASA invention—takes pictures with a moving mirror, providing high resolution over a wide area Spinoff 2016 Benefits WAI can take several kinds of images at once and layer them into a single output Combining long-wave infrared images with midwave infrared data, it’s possible to distinguish small fires from other heat sources WAI can image geographic areas more quickly and is used by local governments for mapping Energy and Environment
Photocatalytic Water Splitter Stores Energy as Hydrogen Ames Research Center Nanoptek Corporation Cocord, Massachusetts NASA Technology To help support future missions, NASA wants to find ways to separate and recombine molecules found on extraterrestrial bodies Titanium dioxide was known to be a semiconductor when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, but that’s only 4 percent of the solar spectrum Technology Transfer Nanoptek, through SBIR contracts from NASA, developed a cost-effective method for making titanium dioxide responsive to 29 percent of the sun’s light Engineered titania uses sunlight to efficiently electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen, with hydrogen stored for later use in fuel cells Spinoff 2016 Benefits Grids dependent on intermittent power, such as solar, require backup storage Unlike batteries, performs well in high heat and never loses power Nanoptek envisions power plants for microgrids in the developing world Energy and Environment
Recycling Technology Converts Plastic Waste to Energy Glenn Research Center Vadxx Energy LLC Cleveland, Ohio NASA Technology Glenn has a long history of improving engines, from the first Centaur rocket to ion thrusters Scientists there also specialize in kinematics of oil decomposition for turbine engines and kerosene rocket engines Technology Transfer Benefits A chemist and oil industry expert teamed up to devise a way to recycle plastic waste into fuel gas and diesel additives, but needed a little help The company’s technology can process 20, 000 tons of plastic waste per year to produce 100, 000 barrels of petroleum Through a White House initiative, the men were paired with experts from Glenn to optimize the design of their kiln Estimates are that up to 1, 500 units could be used nationally, causing a 7 percent reduction in oil imports, with each facility earning $8 to $12 million per year Method developed by Glenn scientists resulted in company’s first full-scale commercial kiln design Spinoff 2016 Energy and Environment
Tiny Capsules Enable a World of Possibilities Marshall Space Flight Center RMANNCO Inc. Lenoir, North Carolina NASA Technology NASA had an interest in creating tiny latex microcapsules containing live cells for antibiotics to be used in space After difficulty creating uniformly sized and shaped spheres on Earth, a technique was perfected in microgravity and then modified for terrestrial use Technology Transfer Benefits Inspired by NASA’s work, Joe Resnick licensed the machine for manufacturing the microcapsules and tried to make them even smaller First commercialized for petroleum cleanup, the capsules are now used for more efficient use of food ingredients and for self-refreshing lipstick With improvements in technology, he’s now capable of making the microcapsules in sizes ranging from 1 to 9, 000 microns New treatment for injured military dogs uses wax capsules filled with natural oils and antiseptics Capsules are made from beeswax and are naturally biodegradable Spinoff 2016 Also developing synthetic food for honeybees, to produce honey not containing sugar Energy and Environment
System-Health Monitor Predicts Failures Before they Happen Ames Research Center CEMSol LLC Phoenix, Arizona NASA Technology Software was developed at Ames to monitor a hybrid rocket engine test bed The Inductive Monitoring System collects data including temperature, pressure, fuel flow, voltage from sensors and monitors relationships between various factors Technology Transfer The software is being integrated into the nextgeneration launch control at Kennedy Space Center, as well as Orion and the F-18 fighter jet CEMSol licensed the program in 2008 and developed applications in system health monitoring Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) monitors systems to identify deviations from baseline behavior that might preclude a failure Spinoff 2016 Benefits Tested on the Lockheed C-130 Hercules plane, ISHM successfully predicted startup failures. Savings on maintenance and delays topped 10 times Lockheed’s investment in the test Believed to be first step toward universal selfmonitoring Also successful in analyzing weather systems Information Technology
Algorithm Predicts and Evaluates Storm Surges Stennis Space Center World. Winds Inc. Slidell, Louisiana NASA Technology NASA launched the Quik. SCAT satellite in 1999 to use radar pulses to research global weather patterns The next year, the Space Shuttle Endeavour undertook the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, spending 11 days creating a global topographical map detailing 80 percent of the planet’s surface Technology Transfer Benefits Using open source software created by the Army Corps of Engineers and two universities, a Stennis engineer’s company combined data from NASA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assess coastal terrain and forecast storm surges Storm. Winds takes advantage of a cluster of 852 processors to compute storm-related issues An algorithm was formulated to use wind measurement-gathering sources and real-time satellite data to analyze storms over time Storm. Winds is being used to redraw storm surge maps for the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico Spinoff 2016 Tool can help homeowners know which storm damage-related insurance claims to file Simulations predict where storm surges will hit Information Technology
Mars Rover Work Spawns PDF Collaboration Software Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Bluebeam Software Inc. Pasadena, California NASA Technology Alliance Spacesystems, whose engineers came from JPL, needed to design and build the robotic arm for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers in two years To meet deadline, they wanted to be more efficient in reviewing and marking up designs Technology Transfer Benefits Pushbutton PDF, which converts computer-aided design models into high-resolution, scalable drawings, became spinoff company Bluebeam’s first product Revu is used by 58 percent of the top international design firms, 64 percent of top American design firms, and 74 percent of top American contractors by revenue Revu, the company’s current primary offering, includes other tools for PDF creation, markup, and project management JPL is among Bluebeam’s clients and uses the software as a whiteboard to facilitate meetings Spinoff 2016 Embraced by construction, oil and gas industries Information Technology
Open Source Tools Popularize Infrastructure for Cloud Computing Ames Research Center Canonical Ltd. Boston, Massachusetts NASA Technology A NASA project to standardize NASA websites resulted in Open. Stack, the world’s leading open source cloud computing platform Open. Stack is deployed across the world to manage organization’s data in public and private clouds Technology Transfer Most Open. Stack deployments are underpinned by Ubuntu, the leading distribution of Linux Canonical, which created Ubuntu, decided to make officially adopt Open. Stack as Ubuntu’s built-in cloud computing program and develop additional tools to support it Spinoff 2016 Benefits Canonical Distribution of Open. Stack is a suite of software that clients can use to build their own cloud The company also offers services to build and run clouds for business, training in running Open. Stack, and more Information Technology
Software Optimizes Designs from Spaceships to Wind Turbines Langley Research Center Collier Research Corporation Newport News, Virginia NASA Technology The National Aerospace Plane, or X-30, was going to be a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle for traveling to low-Earth orbit and back ST-SIZE software was created to determine the best materials to keep the plane as light as possible Technology Transfer The X-30 plan was cancelled, but ST-SIZE lived on as software licensed by NASA to Craig Collier, who had developed it at Langley Renamed Hyper. Sizer, the program was a design optimizer that could calculate the weight of different vehicles based on materials and suggest changes NASA SBIR contracts further improved the software Spinoff 2016 Benefits Now able to alter designs, decreasing waste Used create alternative designs for the Orion capsule and its heat shield carrier Boeing, Space. X, and other commercial space companies now using Hyper. Sizer Also used to design wind turbine blades Information Technology
NASA Climate Analytics Support Biological Research Goddard Space Flight Center i. Plant Collaborative Tucson, Arizona NASA Technology NASA’s Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) has generated 200 terabytes of climate reanalysis data since 2008 Nearly 120 kinds of observations are combined to generate global and regional weather models Data from 1979 through today used in analysis Technology Transfer To share MERRA’s datasets, a team at Goddard used NASA Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science Program funding to allow users remote access to NASA servers for computing MERRA dataset was broken into a cluster of 36 servers, allowing for simultaneous use of information Benefits i. Plant Collaborative was an early user, developing a graphical interface for CAaa. S as a research tool to support life science research Storage and calculations occur on NASA servers, minimizing the time and computing power users need to perform calculations Climate-Analytics-as-a-Service (CAaa. S) is offered through NASA’s Climate Data Services application Spinoff 2016 Information Technology
Artificial Intelligence Targets Advertising by Understanding User Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Beyond Limits Corporation Thousand Oaks, California NASA Technology In the 1980 s, scientists at JPL developed the Spacecraft Health Inference Engine (SHINE), an artificial intelligence program to monitor spacecraft One of those scientists later created Hunter, a natural language-understanding system based on SHINE Technology Transfer Benefits SHINE has been used to solve problems in cybersecurity and perform diagnostics for robotics and security systems The software infers an Internet user’s intent based on websites visited, subject matter read, and other observations Beyond Limits licensed SHINE and Hunter to target online advertising to consumers by determining a person’s intent and sentiment at a given moment Beyond Limits’ product delves into a multi-million -dollar targeted advertising market Spinoff 2016 NASA has incorporated software improvements the company made to SHINE Information Technology
Modeling Software Helps Rocket Scientists Go with the Flow Marshall Space Flight Center Concepts NREC White River Junction, Vermont NASA Technology NASA worked on the Fastrac turbopump fuel injector in the 1990 s for smaller, less expensive spacecraft The turbopump was designed to run more efficiently, using refined kerosene instead of liquid hydrogen At the time, NASA didn’t have a general-purpose code for analytics testing Technology Transfer Benefits The Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP) was created to analyze turbopump designs GFSSP was licensed by Concepts NREC, which sells the code as part of a software package After the Fastrac program was cancelled, other similar turbopump engines gained in popularity Mining companies are using GFSSP to analyze the flow of methane through shafts for removal GFSSP became a popular computational fluid dynamics code used by NASA and other government agencies Spinoff 2016 Named NASA’s Software of the Year in 2001 Latest version looks at mixtures of gas-liquids that move at different speeds Information Technology
Electro-Optic Ceramic Creates High-Speed Fiber-Optic Networks Langley Research Center Boston Applied Technologies Inc. (BATi) Woburn, Massachusetts NASA Technology Electro-optic ceramic materials promised efficient, rugged components with high response speeds An SBIR contract from NASA for a Q switch for an all -solid lidar system let BATi demonstrate a new ceramic with an electro-optic effect nearly 100 times greater than its predecessor Technology Transfer Benefits The material used in the switch, lanthanum-modified magnesium niobate titanate (PLMNT), allows for smaller and more compact lasers with a higher electro-optic coefficient BATi’s Opto. Ceramic material can withstand high humidity and wide temperature swings without compromising performance BATi used PLMNT to expand its line of products into high-speed optical switches for fiber-optic networks Spinoff 2016 The materials can be made by hot-pressing, cheaper and easier than growing crystals Defense contractors, universities, and research institutes use the ceramics Information Technology
Digital. Clone Software Predicts, Extends Machine Life Glenn Research Center Sentient Science Buffalo, New York NASA Technology Sentient Science was working on a tool that could predict the lifespan of a given machine component Under an SBIR contract from NASA, the company validated its tool with the help of Glenn’s database on helicopter gear performance Technology Transfer A gear with 25 years’ worth of data available was selected Based on materials, surfaces, and working conditions, Sentient was able to predict the gear’s pitting life—when it would have to be replaced—and reached the same results logged in the database Spinoff 2016 Benefits Using the software to predict wear on a component, thousands of test points are generated in days, the equivalent of decades of real-world testing data Digital. Clone Live now monitors more than 5, 000 wind turbines from eight operators, helping to bring down the cost of wind energy Industrial Productivity
Cryocoolers Fuel Exploration in Space and on Earth Goddard Space Flight Center Sunpower Inc. Athens, Ohio NASA Technology NASA needed a way to keep the detectors aboard the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager at -324 °F In the interest of saving time and money, the agency reached out to Sunpower, which makes cryocoolers that use the Stirling cycle Technology Transfer Under 18 SBIR contracts with Goddard and Glenn Research Center, Sunpower has developed at least a dozen cryocoolers to NASA specifications These cryocoolers have a lifespan of at least 23 years, useful for space missions Advancements under these SBIRs included engine efficiency improvements and use of thermoacoustics —using sound waves to transfer heat Spinoff 2016 Benefits Sunpower’s cryocoolers are used for infrared detectors on high-end telescopes, as well as scientific, commercial, and military applications, and high-temperature superconductors Product line, especially niche applications in commercial and space-oriented cryocoolers, have benefited from NASA work Industrial Productivity
Temperature-Resistant Materials Enable Space-Like Cold on Earth Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Dunmore Corporation Bristol, Pennsylvania NASA Technology JPL engineers needed to shield the Cassini probe from temperature fluctuations but didn’t have a viable tape to allow blankets to be tied to the craft Dunmore made a special tape for the job, just one of the many tapes, insulations, and other products the company has made to NASA specifications Technology Transfer Benefits The results are light, feathery insulations with many layers that reflect the sun’s heat back into space and interior warmth back into the craft Such insulations are used in buildings, cryogenic material storage, MRI machines, and particle accelerators Insulations, tapes, electrostatic dissipators, and labels made for NASA are now in Dunmore’s catalog High-temperature labels and electrostatic dissipators are used on circuit boards, and the tapes are used in electronics and aircraft Several commercial space companies are clients Spinoff 2016 Industrial Productivity
Lasers Enable Alternative Power Transmission NASA Headquarters Laser. Motive Seattle, Washington NASA Technology NASA has encouraged the public to work on technology that would enable an elevator to space For NASA’s Power Beaming Challenge, participants had to come up with ways to remotely power robot “climbers” that could one day transport spacecraft and payloads into orbit Technology Transfer In 2009, the only team to meet the challenge was Laser. Motive, using diode lasers to send power to photovoltaic arrays on its climber, which ascended one kilometer at two meters per second Expertise and money gained from this success allowed Laser. Motive to commercialize its Power over Fiber technology, which sends energy from a laser through fiber-optic cables Spinoff 2016 Benefits The standard model is rated for 10 watts of direct current, far more than other, similar systems, with higher wattages in the works Doesn’t create radio noise, need heavy insulation, or let electricity to return through wires Industrial Productivity
Helium Recapture System Reclaims Hydrogen for Industry Use Stennis Space Center Sustainable Innovations LLC East Hartford, Connecticut NASA Technology NASA uses up to 100 million cubic feet of helium annually to purge hydrogen lines around test sites and launch pads Rising costs of helium prompted NASA to look for more efficient and cost-effective supply streams Technology Transfer Sustainable Innovations received STTR contracts from NASA for development of a reverse form of fuel cell technology that uses an electrical charge to separate and purify hydrogen, leaving helium for reuse The process is an efficient way for industry to recycle and store hydrogen for future use Spinoff 2016 Benefits Sustainable Innovations’ H 2 RENEW offers a cost savings opportunity for industries that use hydrogen H 2 RENEW cabinet both cleans and pressurizes hydrogen for storage Energy market for hydrogen could be up to $50 billion annually Industrial Productivity
Laser Vision Helps Hubble, Package Shippers See Clearly Goddard Space Flight Center AOA Xinetics Cambridge, Massachusetts NASA Technology One of the Hubble Space Telescope’s primary mirrors was initially ground to the wrong shape, resulting in fuzzy images Before sending up two new tools to correct for the mirror defect, NASA wanted to validate the repair method Technology Transfer Benefits Optics companies were asked to create an instrument to verify the shape of a mirror and detect any defects AOA’s resulting aberrated beam analyzer (ABA) has since found numerous commercial uses AOA Xinetics won the “sense-off” with its newly created tool, which was then used to verify the replacement parts for Hubble Spinoff 2016 All major shipping companies now use a package-scanning and dimensioning system based on ABA AOA also used ABA to build a scan tunnel for self-checkout deployed in Kroger grocery stores Industrial Productivity
Space-Ready Durometers Measure Hardness on Earth Johnson Space Center Rex Gauge Company Inc. Buffalo Grove, Illinois NASA Technology NASA created a system for detecting and fixing any damaged or missing tiles from the shuttle’s underbelly once it reached space However, the agency needed a way to make sure the replacement was fully cured before the shuttle attempted reentry Technology Transfer The agency contacted Rex Gauge to ask about a modified durometer for astronauts Durometers measure the hardness of nonmetallic substances The modified durometer has a wider barrel, a modified top, and a dial with a colored background and larger display to read easily in space Spinoff 2016 Benefits The SG-5000 durometer has been certified by the Space Foundation as a space technologyderived product Rex added some of the features NASA requested on its Model DD-4 durometer, leading to a 35 percent increase in sales for the digital gauges Industrial Productivity
High-Temperature Superconductors Deliver Power without Heat Goddard Space Flight Center Energy to Power Solutions Tallahassee, Florida NASA Technology There was great excitement for high-temperature superconductive (HTS) materials in the mid-1980 s These materials become superconductive at much higher temperatures than metal superconductors NASA needed an HTS material for the spectrometer it contributed to Japan’s ASTRO-H observatory Technology Transfer Energy to Power Solutions—then called Tai-Yang— had developed a way to slit superconducting tapes down to a size compatible with NASA’s needs The enabling technology were ceramic wires, made from yttrium barium copper oxide, which wouldn’t overwhelm the system with heat Spinoff 2016 Benefits Energy to Power Solutions’ leads, derived from its NASA work, transfer only 100 to 200 microwatts of heat and can operate at temperatures as low as 0. 05 K The company sells its technology for a variety of terrestrial applications, including MRI machines, and continues to work on reducing costs Industrial Productivity
Electrospray Thrusters Boost Efficiency, Precision Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Busek Natick, Massachusetts NASA Technology JPL engineers were tasked with surveying possible thrusters for a system on the European Space Agency’s LISA Pathfinder mission The thrusters would need to have an extremely delicate touch for slight adjustments, and exceptionally long life Technology Transfer Through an SBIR contract, Busek developed thrusters using electrospray, which applies an electrostatic field to the surface of an ionized liquid, resulting in a miniscule exhaust and thrust The company was selected to provide electrospray thrusters for LISA Pathfinder’s disturbance reduction system, precise enough to counteract forces as negligible as photons striking the craft’s shell Spinoff 2016 Benefits Busek’s electrospray thrusters operate at about 70 percent efficiency, compared with 50 to 60 percent efficiency from traditional ion thrusters New goal is to get thrusters designed for Cube. Sats into space Busek also makes Hall effect thrusters and micro -pulsed plasma thrusters, among others Industrial Productivity
Visit the Spinoff website for more examples of NASA technology transfer: http: //spinoff. nasa. gov
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