Ernie :
The question was asked generically precisely because I am aware of what you
said previously.
Here is one area where were on very different pages.
For instance :
buy rides on SpaceShip One
WTH ?
Granted the private Space development program is coming along, and in 3 or
4 years it may
actually have the payload capacity of the NASA Mercury program just
before Apollo,
but it cannot possibly have Soyuz capability, let alone Space Shuttle
capacity.
That may well come, but in the meantime we are throwing away a fully
functional
system which has produced incredible advances in many areas, and for what ?
Because Obama is "Space-phobic" and lacks interest in Space exploration.
And maybe also because he wants to "punish" Texas and its massive
Space center.
I get the clear impression that ( 1 ) you never watch NASA television and
( 2 ) pretty much could care less what happens with the Space program.
Correct me if I am wrong, but this is what comes across.
My best guess is that your characterization of the interest / lack of
interest of
Silicon Valley with Space is either Apple specific, although I would
seriously doubt it,
or, more likely, Ernie specific or no more than specific for a particular
occupational subset in the Valley.
In this case, while ordinarily I must defer to you for insights into high
tech issues,
it is necessary to be skeptical ^ 2.
Do I know about "Space opinion" in Silicon country ? Hardly Nor am I
at all
sure how to even find out what it is. But thinking about not only Apple but
Google
and HP and the folks at Stanford and the whole schmeer, my best guess is
that
a clear ( or even large ) majority is aghast at the gutting of NASA.
FAR from my views being ca 1970s in character, seems to me they are
very much 2010. See below. No idea how to characterize your outlook
but I wouldn't classify it in terms of some past era of Space history.
I can guess, but that is all, maybe a reflection of concerns with
here-and-now
marketing priorities which have little to do at all with Space, possibly
you
have some sort of emotional sense that Space focus would compete with
your Earth-o-centric career path and represent unwelcome competition for
common resources, or maybe the source is theological in some sense,
or a function of a bad run-in, in the past, with a Space freak who
soured you
on the idea of Space, or God knows what. These may all be wrong guesses,
but I would be utterly incredulous if your outlook was shared in Silicon
Valley
by more than a minority.
Billy
================================================
Usefulness of NASA innovations
Compiled --in a matter of minutes-- from a variety of scattered sources
via a Google search. Even this much tells me that a serious research
project
ought to be able to identify a very substantial number of important
innovations.
NASA TV is very instructive , even if it is self-promotional, in telling
you
what the spin-offs from the Space program have been.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Take Adam Kissiah's story. Driven by his own hearing problem, he developed
the cochlear implant, a device that has restored hearing for thousands, and
allowed others born deaf to hear for the first time. Kissiah had no
medical training, but used expertise learned as an electronics instrumentation
engineer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. (_Read More_
(javascript:openNASAWindow('http://nctn.hq.nasa.gov/innovation/innovation105/4-advtech2.html'))
)
NASA researcher Dr. Rafat Ansari was working on experiments studying small
particles suspended in liquids when he realized that his work could
possibly help detect cataracts, the degenerative eye condition afflicting his
father. Now the instrument is being adapted to identify other eye diseases,
diabetes and possibly even Alzheimer's. As a child in Pakistan, he decided to
become a scientist because he saw people walking on the moon
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
NASA in Your Life
"Wireless headsets are one useful commercial innovation based on NASA
research."
Start learning about _NASA in Your Life_
(http://www.nasa.gov/topics/nasalife/index.html) by exploring the interactive
feature _NASA @ Home and
City_ (http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/nasacity/landing.htm) . As you tour
the
home and city sections, write a list of comparable items that you may use
or rely on in your own life.
Begin by entering NASA @ Home. Tour the Bathroom by clicking on
items&mdashcalled, NASA spinoffs—where the viewer screen appears. You will
discover,
for example, how ingestible toothpaste and infrared ear thermometers have
improved children's health and comfort.
In the Living Room, you will see how NASA research has improved guitar
acoustics, produced superior sunglasses, and provided the freedom of wireless
headsets. In the Bedroom, you will find sports equipment, clothing, and
computer software inspired by NASA innovations. In the Kitchen, see how NASA
contributed to better baby food, and take a look at the cool cutting-edge
oven.
Hitting the button in the top-right corner of the screen, flip on over to
NASA City. Start with the Air Travel section, where you will get a glimpse
of an airplane's clean-burning engines, anti-icing systems, and cabin
pressure devices.
"Digital imaging, based on NASA research, has significantly improved human
health."
Continue your city tour in the Automotive section. Here, you will see how
NASA research has helped improve safety and fuel efficiency. Discover more
key innovations in the Sports & Recreation, Public Safety, Medical,
Manufacturing, and
Grocery fields. Also, check out how NASA has helped improve science and
safety in Coastal areas.
To delve deeper into NASA's contributions to health and medicine, dig into
the separate _NASA Anatomy_
(http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/MedicalBenefits/main.html) feature. Here,
you can explore the body's major systems,
and you can learn about robotic surgery and imaging technology.
Also, browse through _NASA Hits: Rewards from Space_
(http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/hits2_flash/index_noaccess.html) to examine
even more spinoff
technologies.
Now, analyze the list you created during your tour. For at least three of
the items, write a sentence that describes how NASA research has contributed
to that kind of product or service. Share and discuss your list with
classmates.
------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
Spinoff 2008 lists many of the latest NASA innovations now in the
commercial marketplace. These innovations have resulted in healthcare advances,
transportation breakthroughs, public safety benefits, new consumer goods,
environmental protection, computer technology and industrial productivity.
"The results of NASA research and technology are all around us, providing
benefits to many aspects of our daily lives and well-being," said NASA's
Deputy Administrator Shana Dale.
Several examples of these benefits are described in Spinoff 2008,
including:
- Advanced polymer coatings for implantable devices to help avert heart
failure
- Robotic technology used for minimally invasive knee surgery
- Space suit-derived textiles to help protect firefighters and race car
drivers
- Drag reduction research applied to record-breaking swimsuit development
- Astronaut food supplements in worldwide use to improve baby formula
- Carbon nanomesh technology applied to filtering safe drinking water
- Rocket engine valve technology reducing emissions for power generation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
The next item is not only current, it is futuristic and won't be
operational
until the robot is launched. Who can say ? Maybe it will malfunction.
Maybe it won't be successful until some future flight. But as a reasonable
guess this will represent a major leap forward in robotics and
high tech systems generally. Seeing film footage of R2 on NASA TV
you can only be impressed.
NASA to Launch Human-Like Robot to Join Space Station Crew
04.15.10
Robonaut2 – or R2 for short – is the next generation dexterous robot,
developed through a Space Act Agreement by NASA and General Motors. Credit:
NASA.
_› View more images_
(http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/robonaut_photos.html)
_› Download the Robonaut2 Fact Sheet (PDF, 3.4 MB)_
(http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/464887main_Robonaut2FactSheet.pdf) NASA will launch
the first
human-like robot to space later this year to become a permanent resident of
the
International Space Station. Robonaut 2, or R2, was developed jointly by NASA
and General Motors under a cooperative agreement to develop a robotic
assistant that can work alongside humans, whether they are astronauts in space
or
workers at GM manufacturing plants on Earth.
The 300-pound R2 consists of a head and a torso with two arms and two
hands. R2 will launch on space shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-133
mission
planned for September. Once aboard the station, engineers will monitor how
the robot operates in weightlessness.
R2 will be confined to operations in the station's Destiny laboratory.
However, future enhancements and modifications may allow it to move more
freely around the station's interior or outside the complex.
"This project exemplifies the promise that a future generation of robots
can have both in space and on Earth, not as replacements for humans but as
companions that can carry out key supporting roles," said John Olson,
director of NASA's Exploration Systems Integration Office at NASA Headquarters
in
Washington. "The combined potential of humans and robots is a perfect
example of the sum equaling more than the parts. It will allow us to go
farther
and achieve more than we can probably even imagine today."
The dexterous robot not only looks like a human but also is designed to
work like one. With human-like hands and arms, R2 is able to use the same
tools station crew members use. In the future, the greatest benefits of
humanoid robots in space may be as assistants or stand-in for astronauts
during
spacewalks or for tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans. For now, R2
is still a prototype and does not have adequate protection needed to exist
outside the space station in the extreme temperatures of space.
Testing the robot inside the station will provide an important
intermediate environment. R2 will be tested in microgravity and subjected to
the
station's radiation and electromagnetic interference environments. The
interior
operations will provide performance data about how a robot may work
side-by-side with astronauts. As development activities progress on the
ground,
station crews may be provided hardware and software to update R2 to enable it
to do new tasks.
R2 is undergoing extensive testing in preparation for its flight.
Vibration, vacuum and radiation testing along with other procedures being
conducted
on R2 also benefit the team at GM. The automaker plans to use technologies
from R2 in future advanced vehicle safety systems and manufacturing plant
applications.
"The extreme levels of testing R2 has undergone as it prepares to venture
to the International Space Station are on par with the validation our
vehicles and components go through on the path to production," said Alan Taub,
vice president of GM's global research and development. "The work done by GM
and NASA engineers also will help us validate manufacturing technologies
that will improve the health and safety of our GM team members at our
manufacturing plants throughout the world. Partnerships between organizations
such as GM and NASA help ensure space exploration, road travel and
manufacturing can become even safer in the future."
=====================================================
message dated 11/1/2010 [email protected] writes:
Hi Billy,
On Nov 1, 2010, at 2:44 PM, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) wrote:
I also wonder what tech people think of BHO gutting the NASA manned space
program since it has produced a plethora of high tech innovations BR
As I think I've said before, you're still living in the 1970s. Back then,
government R&D in NASA and the military dwarfed civilian usage. Now,
Hollywood and Silicon Valley probably spend more on technology than the
government does. Indeed, they come to _us_ to find out the latest
breakthroughs,
not vice versa. What's the last innovation to come of the space program
since, say, velcro?
Government contractors may be bemoaning the loss of NASA's manned space
program, but I don't think anyone in Silicon Valley even batted an eye.
They're more likely to buy rides on SpaceShip One than put faith in NASA's
ability to innovate.
-- Ernie P.
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
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Google Group: _http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism_
(http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism)
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(http://radicalcentrism.org/)
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
<[email protected]>
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism
Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
