«At NASA we do things that no one has done before» has stated Daniel Lockneydirector of the Technology Transfer Office of the POT during his intervention in the Smart Business: Innovation & Valueswhich was held under the title, «Green Deal Objective» in it Exhibition Palace From Valencia.
This event brought together researchers, academics and business leaders from different productive sectors to present innovative solutions that help successfully, rigorously and efficiently face the green transition in organizations.
Daniel Lockney, who participated in the meeting with the presentation “It Came from Outer Space: Terrestrial Uses of NASA Technology”is the main person responsible for the US aerospace agency in identifying innovative technology developed for space missions and finding practical applications in the industrial and domestic sphere.
Lockney has given several examples of “how these practical uses derived from space technology provide guidance to seek technical solutions to current problems”.
Technology for beyond space
The head of NASA has commented that “You can’t go to the shops and buy a rocket”. He has explained that “What engineers do is work on a problem, they look for a solution, they try it and most of the time it doesn’t work”.
He has also emphasized that “At NASA we cannot afford not to succeed because we have human lives in our hands”.
NASA has reported that they have laboratories throughout the United States and also in universities. «We work on different problems and the professionals who work with me are in charge of seeing if this technology can be carried out and if it can be beneficial for everyday life».
Knowledge should be free
He has also put on the table a series of important concepts such as that R&D improves competitiveness, the value of intellectual property and has emphasized that “knowledge has to be free”.
«Launching something into space is very expensive and if something fails it stays floating«he stressed. «It occurred to us to fix these satellites in space for other purposes, so that they do not disturb other satellites, because they could collide… a very small piece could kill someone. The plan was to make it accessible, free for everyone.”.
So they decided to talk to an aerospace company «but it is such a small market that no one would want to invest in this technology«He related.
«My goal is for everyone to have access to technology» has underlined. However “I also consider it important that there is intellectual property because it is hard work.
In this sense, he has reported that «Space is for everyone and it is closer than we think. They’re not just rockets. All areas are covered by NASA from lighter materials, green technology…”.
In fact, he has given several examples about “how everything we do in space can work on earth”.
The viscoelastic mattress
Among the examples that he has been giving to illustrate how those developments, projects carried out for NASA, have a daily application was the viscoelastic mattress. “We created it and it wasn’t for space, it was for airplane seats.” What was the objective? “We tried to make them soft and not vibrate so that the pilot could fly more comfortably, especially on long trips”.
«We designed the first application and started working with a telephone company in North Carolina. In that store there was someone who specialized in horses and wooden legs for those who were injured. A material was needed so that the horse could rest its stump on the wooden leg and not get hurt and this material was used. From here, they thought about making a mattress, the technology was free to use because it was public, and it was said that NASA had created it and it was all over the world and they sold it.he recalled.
The importance of Omega 3 for babies
Another example that Lokney gave was related to the food that was sold for babies in the 90s, an infant formula that did not have omega 3, necessary to strengthen the spine, improve learning… “and we had not found a way to synthesize this component of fish and add it to baby food”.
They reported that they found some seaweed from which they extracted the nutrients “and this was where we found omega 3.” What happened after? «A conglomerate of Dutch companies bought the idea from us and they have the intellectual property». “From that moment we saw that the fish ate algae and that is why it had that component”he pointed out.
Mobile cameras too
Lockney has reported that “Mobile cameras are also a NASA invention”. «We have not invented the microwave nor velcro, which was invented by a Swiss man while he was walking the dog. “They attribute things to us that we have not done.”has explained.
Regarding the camera, he explained that there was an engineer who was designing a camera to go into space. «It had to be light and innovative, it was like a chip and we didn’t really know what to do with this little camera. “We thought it could serve spies, but it was a small market and that was not the direction we wanted to take.”he clarified.
“So Nokia came to us and told us we could put it on a phone. We didn’t see it but they were right and after thirty years we take photos of everything and NASA wanted to take good photos in space and look what they came up with too.”he recalled.
We wanted to go to the moon…
«“We wanted to go to the Moon and then to Mars, in an international project but for the year 2040. During the design phase of this large rocket, we saw that it vibrated and was so big that it could turn people into liquid.”.
They decided to find a solution because “We can’t launch it like this”. So NASA engineers found a way to stabilize the vehicle. “We had all the scientists thinking about the problem”he has clarified.
They made the decision to take this damping material to New York to test it on buildings, but they didn’t like the idea. «We put it on the table to the number two most important builder in the world, we talked to him and conveyed the idea of placing a mass damper on the roof of a building, we tested it and now they are going to put it on all buildings because works”has explained.
What was the objective? «With this mass absorber from NASA, buildings would survive natural disasters better»he pointed out.
He concluded by explaining that «There are many NASA codes that are free and available. “We just want a public benefit.”. «There are solutions that can be used for problems that were not thought of as in universities that will contribute to creating synergies and new technologies and bringing them to the market».
