NASA @ Home and City
Space is everywhere you look
Sports and Recreation
Sports & Recreation
Shock-absorbing Athletic Shoes
Al Gross transferred his expertise obtained as a NASA Apollo program ILC engineer, to the manufacture of athletic shoes. Gross substituted DuPont's Hytrel plastic for foam materials in the shoe's midsole, eliminating cushioning loss caused by body weight. An external pressurized shell applied from space suit technology was incorporated into the shoe. Stiffness and cushioning properties of the midsole were tuned by varying material thickness and styling lines. A stress free blow molding process adapted from NASA space suit design was also utilized. The resulting compression chamber midsole performed well in tests. It allows AVIA to re-configure for specific sports and is a first step toward a durable, foamless, non-fatiguing midsole.
Sports & Recreation
Stadium Material
The NFL’s first retractable roof at Reliant Stadium, supported by a network of cables and pylons, was made possible by technology developed by NASA in creating fabric for its spacesuits. The permanent structure fabric developed by BirdAir for the Apollo Program is stronger than steel, weighs only five ounces per square foot, and has a translucency value ranging from 4 to 18 percent which reduces lighting needs making it ideal for maintaining natural-grass playing fields. Lasting up to 20 years, it reduces building costs 30 percent below conventional construction on average. Its reflectivity also lowers cooling costs and the Teflon coating reduces maintenance costs by increasing the fabric’s resistance to moisture, temperature extremes and deterioration. The same material is now used in structures around the country, like at the Denver International Airport, Chicago’s Navy Pier, and the San Diego Convention Center.
Sports & Recreation
Plasma Displays
At a loss for a way to manufacturing a plasma display that could produce hollow, glass micro-sized spheres (microspheres) capable of being filled with a variety of gasses that wouldn’t discolor under extremely high temperatures required, Microsphere Systems and Imaging Systems Technology (IST) turned to NASA. NASA experts in advanced metals, ceramics, and glass concluded that a new design approach was necessary. IST incorporated NASA’s recommendations which resulted in the company incorporating non-distorting, non-discoloring, and multi-contour microspheres - the key component for IST’s novel plasma displays. These displays have commercial application in the markets of large venue displays, large conformable displays, and even home theaters.
Sports & Recreation
Protective Padding
An innovative foam material with unusual properties was originally created by a NASA contractor as padding for aircraft seats to offer better impact protection against accidents and enhance passenger comfort, evenly distributing body weight across the entire contact area. This material flows to match the contour of the body pressing against it, and returns to its original shape once the pressure is removed, making it ideal for many consumer and industrial purposes. The private sector has repurposed the material for many applications including: athletic safety equipment and helmets worn by little leaguers and professional football players.
Sports & Recreation
Golf Equipment Materials
With the elasticity of plastics and the strength twice those of titanium, Liquidmetal alloys, created by Liquidmetal Technologies, have redefined materials science in the 21st century. NASA contributed to the development of the alloys by subjecting the materials to testing in its Electrostatic Levitator, a special instrument capable of suspending an object in mid-air so that researchers can heat and cool it in a container-less environment free from contaminants. Liquidmetal Technologies starting by enhancing golf equipment, but has since applied its technology to other industries. For the military, they’ve increased performance levels of armor-piercing ammunition, and for medicine. Their work with Johnson & Johnson to develop an improved orthopedic implant and scalpel blade is likely to produce products that are stronger and sharper than steel.
Sports & Recreation
Helmets
Shock reduction in helmets and protective padding is critical to the safety from injury for all athletes, from Little League, to college, and the pros. NASA innovations in shock-absorbent materials, such as Temper Foam, were originally developed to relieve astronauts of the incredible g-forces experienced during liftoff. Open-cell polyurethane silicone plastic Temper Foam exhibits about 340 percent less shock from impact - taking shape of impressed objects, but returning to its original shape even after 90 percent compression. Temper Foam technology is used by private sector companies for all sorts of protective sports equipment including football shoulder / hip / thigh / knee pads, baseball chest protectors, and soccer shin guards.
Sports & Recreation
Ingestible Thermometers
The CorTemp ingestible capsule and recorder system - based on a number of NASA space technologies used to monitor astronauts during space flight - offers a medical research tool to provide data from in-patients, ambulatory patients, and out-patients never before accessible. Free of probes and wire connectors, CorTemp provides greater patient comfort in post-surgery or intensive care and allows clinicians to monitor outpatients at home, work or play. CorTemp facilitates research and treatment related to sleep disorders, sports medicine and physiology, metabolic disease, tumor treatment by radiation, gerontology (aging), basal temperature analysis, substance abuse and other conditions. Other uses include detection of dangerous elevations of core body temperature in blaze-battling firefighters and hard-charging sports players.
Sports & Recreation
Protective Cool Vests
ILC, Dover Division’s lightweight cooling garment, called Cool Vest was designed to eliminate the harmful effects of heat stress; increases tolerance time in hot environments by almost 300 percent. Made of urethane-coated nylon used in Apollo, it works to keep the body cool, circulating chilled water throughout the lining by means of a small battery-powered pump. A pocket houses the pump, battery and the coolant which can be ice or a frozen gel, a valve control allows temperature regulation. One version is self-contained and portable for unrestrained movement, another has an umbilical line attached to an external source of coolant, such as standard tap water, when extended mobility is not required. It is reported from customers that the Cool Vest pays for itself in increased productivity in very high temperatures.
Sports & Recreation
Heart Rate Monitors
NASA-sponsored doctors created a new type of electrocardiographic device that would enable long-term use on astronauts, which was subsequently licensed by NASA to Heart Rate, Inc., who applied this technology in their new Versa Climber as well as a variety of other devices for personal heart monitoring, home physical fitness use. In the home, an infrared heartbeat transmitter is worn under clothing, using the heart rate as the speedometer or exercise intensity-control. Next on the horizon are talking heart rate monitors that work with portable headset radios. Those who benefit from products using these advancements include cardiac rehab patients and elite athletes.
Sports & Recreation
Tennis Rackets
NASA Langley Research Center’s Macro-Fiber Composite (MFC) technology, designed to control vibration, noise, and deflections in composite structural beams and panels, can also be found in many consumer applications already on the market thanks in part to Smart Material Corporation, who has sold MFCs to over 120 customers, including such industry giants as Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, BMW, General Electric, and the tennis company, HEAD. Smart Material Corporation specializes in the development of piezocomposite components. Consumer applications already on the market include piezoelectric systems as part of audio speakers, and recreational products requiring vibration control, such as skis, snowboards, baseball bats, hockey sticks, and tennis racquets.
Sports & Recreation
Phase Change Materials
Utilizing the same adaptive phase-changing materials applied to NASA astronauts’ suits and gloves devised for better protection against the bitter cold and scorching heat in space, Outlast Technologies, Inc.’s Outlast products - including Boots, socks, underwear, shirts, pants, jackets, gloves, hats, as well as bedding - continuously interact with the unique microclimate of the human body and the environment to moderate temperature to keep it just right. Outlast apparel keeps the body comfortable by absorbing excessive heat, diminishing the amount of moisture in clothing. Such “smart” clothing helps maintains an effective “comfort zone” in cold-weather environments, releasing stored heat back to the body when it begins to chill.
