Spin-off from: Drag resistant surfaces
Mission: Space Shuttle Program
Date: 1981
As part of the Space Shuttle Program, NASA has conducted work to improve the drag resistance of the surfaces of its current launch vehicle, in particular the external fuel tank. The special dipped surface applied to the tank allowed NASA to achieve a more optimum lift-to-drag ratio, resulting in more distance and stability from its launch.
After being released to the public sphere, this aerodynamic coating was tested by Wilson Sporting Goods Company, where its engineers discovered that by adding dimples to the surface of a golf ball, the ball could travel more easily with less aerodynamic drag. Using special 3D computer graphics software, Wilson engineers were able to predict the progress made using their new golf ball and built one with medium-sized dimples that created both high lift and far-gliding potential. Nowadays, all golf balls are using this dimpled coating technology.
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I worked for Nasa many years ago, i have seen many things i would never have seen in my lifetime.
I have said for years and years that NASA, and the space industry, need to make public all the "spinoffs" that have come from, and been generated by, the industry. I don't believe that John Q. Public has any idea the number, and the importance and the benefits, derived from these discoveries in their daily lives. These include everyday items in the medical, technological, military, and many other areas which have filtered down, and benefited us all, but of which the average person is unaware,
If the person on the street became aware of how easier, safer, and in some instances, life-saving, our lives had become, they would put the space industry and its importance at or near the top of the budget list for America!
You are so correct! Our space program and NASA should be right at the top os list of programs to be funded!
It's all about R & D, Research and Development. Figuring out how to accomplish something, and then building it in a way that consistently works. Research needs motivation, NASA and the space race provided it. The rest was great work by smart people.
NASA has been fighting for its budget for years, and it gets cut all the time.
My husband worked for NASA for many years under private contractors. I saw all the benefits of the Space Program from the 1960's on. Thus, the benefits we gain from these programs and researches outweigh the costs of them. Science leads to more discovery. We need to fund it.