Tag Archives: technology transfer
“Lost and Gone Forever”? Clementine and the Blending of Civilian and Military Space Science
I have been working on a study of the Clementine program, a lunar orbiter that flew in 1994. Here is the abstract for this study. I would welcome any thoughts about it. In the early 1990s, just as the Cold … Continue reading
How Do Space Activities Contribute to Our Daily Lives?
I was recently asked this question, how do space activities contribute to our daily lives? I must confess that I have been asked it many times previously. Virtually every time this question is asked, however, it is because the person … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “The Robot: The Life Story of a Technology”
The Robot: The Life Story of a Technology. By Lisa Nocks. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. For those seeking a general overview of the evolution of the robot in human history, “The Robot: The Life Story of a … Continue reading
The Federal Government and the Development of Aerospace Technology
Since 1903, the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars developing aerospace technology, on the management of the infrastructure necessary to support its operations, and on the military and other practical applications that it affords. Accordingly, through a … Continue reading
Thoughts on the NACA Model for Technology Transfer
I published this week an op-ed in Space News entitled “The NACA Model for Technology Transfer.” In this piece I laid out the manner in which the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) approached the issue of deciding, developing, and … Continue reading
Prizes and the Stimulation of Space Innovation and Achievement
In December 2010 I posted a blog on “The Power of Aerospace Prizes for Innovation.” I suggested, along with an historical discussion of how these prizes have worked in aviation, that “There is considerable evidence of prizes have stimulated designers … Continue reading
Ad Astra! The Lemelson Center/NASA Space History Division Innovation in Space Symposium
Mark your calendars for November 18-19, 2011, when the National Museum of American History’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation and the Division of Space History of the National Air and Space Museum will co-sponsor a completely … Continue reading
Soviet Vostok Spacecraft up for Auction
This has been an on-going issue for quite a while, but the proposed sale by Southeby’s of the Vostok 3KA-2 spacecraft that was used as the final testbed for Yuri Gagarin’s April 12, 1961, flight raises the issue once again. … Continue reading
STS-133′s Launch as Seen from an Airliner
This is a stunning video. An airline passenger, Neil Monday, on an aircraft that had just taken off from Orlando, Florida, captured this video with his iPhone out the window of the launch of STS-133 on the late afternoon of Thursday, … Continue reading
Creating Open Territorial Rights in Cold and Icy Places: Cold War Rivalries and the Antarctic and Outer Space Treaties
I am presenting a paper at the “Exploring Ice and Snow in the Cold War” Workshop at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society at the Deutsche Museum in Munich, Germany, at the end of January 2011. This is my … Continue reading
