Tag Archives: technology transfer

The Federal Government and the Development of Aerospace Technology

Posted on October 17, 2016 by launiusr

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 →

Posted in aeronautics, aviation, History, Politics, Space, World War II | Tagged 1960s, ames research center, aviation, Boeing, cold war, Department of Defense, federal aviation administration, History, international relations, NASA, nasa ames research, nasa ames research center, politics, public policy, R&D, science, technology transfer, transportation, U.S. Civil Space, World War II | Leave a comment

Beginning the Age of Satellite Communication: Echo 1, August 1960

Posted on August 3, 2015 by launiusr

I just spoke with a journalist about the Echo 1 communications satellite test that took place in August 1960. It’s interesting that this month marks the fifty-fifth anniversary of the world’s first communication satellite, but it is an anniversary that … Continue reading →

Posted in Applications Satellites, History, Science, Space | Tagged 1960s, History, NASA, technology transfer, U.S. Civil Space | 7 Comments

The Railroad and the Space Program Revisited: Historical Analogues and the Stimulation of Commercial Space Operations

Posted on September 5, 2014 by launiusr

I am planning to give the paper, “The Railroad and the Space Program Revisited: Historical Analogues and the Stimulation of Commercial Space Operations,” at an upcoming conference entitled “Spinoffs of Mobility: Technology, Risk & Innovation.” This is the theme for … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Space | Tagged Apollo, History, NASA, presidential power, public policy, railroad, space program, space shuttle, technology transfer, transportation, U.S. Civil Space | 3 Comments

Proposed Syllabus for “Spaceflight and Society” Course, Fall 2013

Posted on August 19, 2013 by launiusr

I am the instructor for a course at Johns Hopkins University in the Fall 2013 semester with the title, “Spaceflight and Society.” I taught this class in the fall of 2011 as well and had a great time doing it, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personal, Politics, Space | Tagged 1960s, American exceptionalism, Apollo, climate change, cold war, Department of Defense, Earth science, History, international relations, International Space Station, JFK, Mars, Moon, Moon race, NASA, politics, presidential power, public perceptions, public policy, science, Soviet Union, space science, space shuttle, syllabus, technology transfer, transportation, U.S. Civil Space, Wernher von Braun, World War II | 16 Comments

Octave Chanute and the Fostering of Flight

Posted on August 15, 2013 by launiusr

I have long been interested in Octave Chanute (1832-1910), whose fingerprints were all over every serious effort, and some that were not so serious, to fly between about 1890 and his death in 1910. Not that he was the leader … Continue reading →

Posted in aeronautics, aviation, History | Tagged 1875-1905, A Dream of Wings: Americans and the Airplane, active engineering, airplane, american citizen, civil engineer, Columbian Expositiion, flight, flight science, innovation, Kitty Hawk, Octave Chanute, Otto Lillienthal, Progress in Flying Machines, proprietary approach, public perceptions, railway construction, technology transfer, wev of communications, Wright brothers | 4 Comments

“Lost and Gone Forever”? Clementine and the Blending of Civilian and Military Space Science

Posted on March 4, 2013 by launiusr

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 →

Posted in History, Lunar Exploration, Politics, Science, Space | Tagged ballistic missile defense organization, Clementine, clementine spacecraft, climate, Department of Defense, George Abbey, History, Mark Albrecht, missile defense organization, Moon, NASA, public policy, Richard Truly, science, space science, space science activities, Stuart Nozette, technology transfer, U.S. Civil Space, vandenberg air force | 8 Comments

How Do Space Activities Contribute to Our Daily Lives?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by launiusr

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 →

Posted in History, Politics, Science, Space | Tagged 1960s, American exceptionalism, global warming, History, international relations, International Space Station, Lyndon B. Johnson, NASA, politics, public perceptions, reconnaissance satellites, science, space science, space shuttle, Spinoffs, technology transfer, U.S. Civil Space | 9 Comments

Wednesday’s Book Review: “The Robot: The Life Story of a Technology”

Posted on October 17, 2012 by launiusr

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 →

Posted in History, Politics, Science | Tagged 1960s, American exceptionalism, cold war, Department of Defense, History, Lisa Nocks, technology transfer, The Robot | Leave a comment

Thoughts on the NACA Model for Technology Transfer

Posted on April 11, 2012 by launiusr

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 →

Posted in aeronautics, aviation, History, Politics, Space | Tagged cars, current-events, environment, History, International Space Station, NACA, NASA, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Newt Gingrich, politics, presidential power, science, Space News, space shuttle, technology transfer, transportation, U.S. Civil Space | 4 Comments

Prizes and the Stimulation of Space Innovation and Achievement

Posted on January 25, 2012 by launiusr

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 →

Posted in aeronautics, aviation, History, Space | Tagged aerospace prizes, History, innovation, NASA, Paul Spudis, public perceptions, public policy, technology development, technology transfer, U.S. Civil Space | 1 Comment