NASA has been in the news quite a bit over the last few weeks, with topics ranging from Endeavour's return to Earth, President Obama's budget increases, and the controversial cancellation of the Ares rocket program. Now that space flight is somewhat of a low priority for NASA at the time being, many people are wondering why they would get a budget increase. What else does NASA do other than build rockets and fly to space? Well, the answer is actually 'Lots'. Even though most people will never get the chance to set foot on the moon, there's a good chance that you yourself use a NASA by-product every day. Since 1958 when the Space Act was signed by President Eisenhower and NASA was created, they have partnered with several research teams and companies to create and innovate a vast array of new technologies. NASA itself has filed over 6,300 patents with the U.S. Government. Today I would like to share a few different everyday items with you that NASA has either created themselves or collaborated with others to create. 

Long-Distance Telecommunications

It took many years and decades of ground breaking work in several different fields to get to level of communication technologies that we have today. While this can't be traced back to one specific NASA invention, I think we can all agree that satellites are a big part of the 'heart and soul' of worldwide telecommunications. NASA first used satellites to relay information about what space was like before sending humans to explore it. Today there are around 200 satellites orbiting the Earth that are still very technologically similar to those early models. These satellites allow customers in India to call and order equipment from us in America, soldiers in Irag and Afghanistan to talk to their loved ones back home, and stock brokers on Wall Street to phone Tokyo about soy bean futures. NASA monitors the location and health of these satellites, keeping us connected to people across the street or across the globe.

Cordless Power Tools

Black & Decker invented the first battery-powered tools in 1961, but NASA helped refine the technology to make those tools lightweight and more powerful. To prepare for the Apollo missions in the 1960's, NASA needed a specialized cordless drill that was lightweight and strong enough to break through the moon's surface. The two companies collaborated to make a battery-powered magnet motor drill and a computer program to govern the tools power expenditure, making it more powerful and efficient. Black & Decker later applied this to their commercial line, sharing the 'space drill' tech with all of us. 

Invisible Braces

NASA and company called Ceradyne developed a substance called TPA or translucent polycrystalline alumina. They working on a way to protect the infrared antennae on heat seeking missiles when another company called Unitek discovered that TPA could be used to their advantage. Unitek was working on a design for dental braces that would remove the 'metal mouth' stigma from the products. They found that TPA was both strong enough to withstand regular use and it was transparent, making it the perfect candidate for their project. Invisible braces are now one of the most successful products in the orthodontic industry. 

There are many, many, many other everyday products that NASA has helped produce that I won't go into detail about here. Just remember the next time you hear someone complaining that 'all that space money should be used to help us down here' remind them that their cell phone, their comfy athletic sneakers, their super soft Tempur-pedic bed, adjustable smoke detector, and their daughters beautiful smile were all made possible by all that 'wasted money'.