# NASA technology... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2001, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-technology/82830 "2001-09-20T17:19:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ellimac007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@ellimac007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ellimac007)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-technology/82830/1 "2001-09-20T17:19:51Z")
I have heard how NASA brought us the ever so great tasting TANG and also invented velcro. Are there any other “technology” we benefit from, and where can I learn about them? ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-technology/82830/2 "2001-09-20T17:23:21Z")
You might find some good stuff at these sites: [Spinoff Online](http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/) [natatechnology.com](http://www.nasatechnology.com/) Nothing beats those pens that write upsidedown, though! Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-technology/82830/3 "2001-09-20T18:31:51Z")
[http://www.velcro.com/ABOUT/history.html](http://www.velcro.com/ABOUT/history.html) Not to nitpick, but NASA doesn’t seem to have been involved in the invention of Velcro. > [@](#): > > In the early 1940’s, Swiss inventor George de Mestral went on a walk with his dog… Upon his return home, he noticed that his dog’s coat and his pants were covered with cockleburrs. His inventor’s curiosity led him to study the burrs under a microscope, where he discovered their natural hook-like shape. > > This was to become the basis for a unique, two-sided fastener - one side with stiff “hooks” like the burrs and the other side with the soft “loops” like the fabric of his pants. The result was VELCRO® brand hook and loop fasteners, named for the French words “velour” and “crochet.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-technology/82830/4 "2001-09-20T21:12:15Z")
Can’t forget Freeze Dried Ice Cream! ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-technology/82830/5 "2001-09-20T21:15:03Z")
I can tell you the one greatest spinoff of the space program, you’ll never see it listed because it’s too abstract. I used to get lectured on this at length because I learned compsci from a bunch of NASA-affiliated EEs and physicists. That innovation is Systems Engineering. It is the second great innovation of the Industrial Revolution, right up there with the invention of standardized interchangable parts. Consider that all the thousands of systems in a spacecraft, most were built by different vendors, and all the systems would only be put together during the actual mission, yet they had to work perfectly the first time. Millions of components were built without ever coming in contact with the devices they’d be installed in. This required a completely new approach to engineering, they called it Systems Engineering because it was a systemic approach to how to keep all the vendors working from compatible specs. It’s a very complex system, I won’t bore you with the details because they’re more of interest to bureaucrats than you or I. Without SE, none of the great accomplishments of the Apollo program would have been possible, and neither would many of the common technologies we take for granted today. Even the computer chip would not be possible without SE.