VLSI%DEC-MARLBORO@sri-unix.UUCP (04/11/84)
From: John Redford <VLSI at DEC-MARLBORO>
Compared to an outfit like Bell Labs NASA's spinoffs look pretty
minor. Has NASA produced any innovation on the order of the
transistor, the laser, fiber optics, or even UNIX? Some might point
to integrated circuits as a major spinoff, but NASA had little to do
with their development. MOS devices are not radiation-resistant
enough for their needs and even TTL was an unproven, unreliable
technology at the time. It may be a little unfair to compare a
development agency like NASA with the premier research organization
in the world, but let's put NASA's spinoffs into perspective. It
hasn't produced nearly the amount of new stuff that Bell or the major
universities have.
And why should it? Spinoffs are not the reason for its existence.
NASA's goal is to open up space, not to do product development. The
real impact of its work so far is not to be found in aluminized
blankets for campers but in the communication and weather satellites.
Comsats are about a billion dollar a year business, and they are
something that the US has a near monopoly on. Weather satellites
have saved hundreds of lives and millions of dollars in damages just
with hurricane tracking. For the last decade Florida has been
undergoing a development boom, and part of the reason could be
because people now know when to evacuate from oncoming storms.
NASA's benefits to the nation come from what we can get out of space,
not from R&D side-effects.
John Redford
DEC-Hudson
--------berry@zinfandel.UUCP (05/13/84)
#R:sri-arpa:-1218500:zinfandel:11100007:000:1662 zinfandel!berry May 10 17:01:00 1984 Anyone who wants to know about NASA's contribution to general technology should subscribe to "NASA Tech Briefs", a quarterly put out for the specific purpose of diseminating NASA technical innovations. My copy of the "Summer 1983" issue arrived a weel or so ago, and includes myriad ideas and inventions available under varying degrees of licensing -- all non-exclusive, if any. (I think the 1983 is a misprint) Topics include: Electronic force gauge for welders; Improved o2/h2 gas mixture sensor; High power (400A 1200V) transistors; Normal incidence X-ray mirror; A compact skin-friction gauge for wind tunnels; NRZ Data asymmetry corrector and convolutional encoder; Self modulated Laser rangefinder; Transducer joint for kidney-stone ultrasonics; ANd many more Surely anyone can find something useful in one of these volumes. Also included are listings of new books and available computer programs; I sent off for info ona set of VAX/VMS security programs for a friend who manages a multi-VAX VMS installation. Subscribe by sending the following information to Manager, Technology Transfer Division P.O. Box 8757 Baltimore/Washington Int'l Airport, MD 21240 1.Name 2.Title 3.Company 4.M/S Code Phone 5.Street 6.City State Zip -----FOR HOME DELIVERY------ Street City State Zip (Home delivery is possible only if items 1-6 are completed) I have 4 cards left in my copy, and will fill them out for anyone who mails me complete information specified above; omit home address if you want delivery at work. Subscription is free. Berry Kercheval Zehntel Inc. (ihnp4!zehntel!zinfandel!berry) (zehntel!berry@BERKELEY, I think) (415)932-6900