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SPACE AGE SPINOFFS
- Chris Rayment

//A Spinoff is basically anything that was originally developed for space research and travel, but have been adapted for Earth as well.//
 * //What is a Spinoff?//**

Originally used as the main material for something called the 'Cool Vest'. The Cool Vest was made for space, in the Apollo, and helps reduce heat stress. What it does is basically circulates chilled water (or heated water if the situation is reversed, and the wearer needs to endure the cold) through the lining of the suit via a battery-powered pump. A pocket at the back holds the pump, battery, and the coolant, which can be ice of frozen gel. There is also a valve to regulate the temperature. The Cool Vest allows people to tolerate heat up to 3x longer. This vest soon began to be used in factories where temperatures could reach 100 degrees fahrenheit, and the workers would be unable to tolerate the heat for that long. But when the Cool Vest was manufactured for workers they could be much more productive since they could stay in the heat much longer. Its even been said that the Cool Vest "pays for itself" from the increased productivity of the workers. The Cool Vest was also researched by Nike, and adapted as an athletic vest. The idea behind it was also adapted for thermal boots and gloves.
 * Nylon:**



This type of food is ideal for space missions. The process of freeze-drying, or lyophilization, is actually a relatively ancient process. It was used by the Peruvian Incas of the Andes, where they would store their potatoes and food crops on the mountain heights and it would be preserved almost flawlessly. Basically the process is the sublimation/removal of water from frozen food. The solidly frozen food is placed under a vacuum, and is dehydrated. Since the food is already frozen, next to no shrinkage occurs and the food is preserved very well. This process occurs in a machine called a 'freeze-dryer', which has a large space in the middle for freezing, and a vacuum pump for taking away the moisture.
 * Freeze-Dried Food:**



Also the food is very light, making in ideal for space. The idea of freeze-drying began to be used commercially during World War II, when penicillin and blood plasma were freeze-dried. Two poor products to freeze-dry are watermelon and lettuce, because they have too high a water content. The most common and well-known freeze-dried product is coffee.

A very important spinoff, this fabric is now used by firefighters all over the globe, protecting them quite well from the harmful flames they come in contact with.
 * Flame-resistant fabric:**

Have you ever seen people with 'invisible' braces? They are basically the same as far as the actual effectiveness, but sport brackets that are almost completely see-through. These ceramic brackets were developed while NASA was attempting to find better and stronger materials for their spacecrafts and aircrafts.
 * Invisible Braces:**

This controller, the design of it being recognized worldwide, was originally made as a way to control the Apollo Land Rover, a vehicle that was exploring certain planets. This has now been adapted for arcade and computer games, and as a controller on the wheelchairs of the disabled.
 * Vehicle Controllers (Joystick):**

The digital watch was heavily refined for space, and the new designs and features were copied on earth and sold on the market. Some things that were refined thanks to the space program were built-in alarms, zero gravity detectors, extreme condition levels, and more (although all might not be used on earth).
 * Digital Watch:**

A couple of these include the pacemaker, which was created for space to measure high blood pressure in the astronauts on the way up. Also scratch-resistant lenses were developed in space as NASA needed some kind of lens to resist scratches from space debris. These are used in eyeglasses nowadays.
 * Certain Medical Spinoffs:**

[|**Freeze-Drying**] [|**Cool Vest PDF**] [|**Also Helpful**] [|**Digital Watches**] [|**Medical**]

LAST UPDATED: May 31, 2009