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NASA and 'New' technology.

drjbrennan

Ephemeral Spectre
Joined
Aug 14, 2001
Messages
313
Is it true that the Space Race produced a whole lot of new technology?
Or did this technology already exist and was simply popularised or utilised by NASA?

I seem to remember that this was a 'de bunked' myth, but now I need real information on this topic.

Anyone able to help?
 
Telstar was launched in 1962, Velcro invented in 1945, I think they both pre-date the Space Race.
 
drjbrennan said:
Telstar was launched in 1962, Velcro invented in 1945, I think they both pre-date the Space Race.
Velcro may have been invented in 1945, but Telstar was definitely a product of the 'Space Race,' which started, proper, in 1957, with the launch of the first Sputnik. ;)
 
Yes but without the space race they might never have been up there.
 
If that's what it is, the Vulcans may turn up soon...
 
Now they've announced this, they will go all quiet about it.
The aliens will have told them to suppress the technology.
 
I believe TANG, the horrible but instant excuse for orange juice, was available before it was used in the US space program. Once it was used in space, the marketing took off. I have dreadful college dorm memories of sub-par vodka screwdrivers made with TANG.
 
Didn't the papermate pen claim to have been designed for use in zero-gravity? Leading to an, admittedly clever, anti-taxation meme that claimed NASA spent millions to develop it, while the Russians used a pencil. Snopes gets to the point, as ever.
 
Didn't the papermate pen claim to have been designed for use in zero-gravity? Leading to an, admittedly clever, anti-taxation meme that claimed NASA spent millions to develop it, while the Russians used a pencil. Snopes gets to the point, as ever.

I could never get used to those "space age" memory foam pillows, gave me shoulder and neck pains.
 
I believe TANG, the horrible but instant excuse for orange juice, was available before it was used in the US space program. Once it was used in space, the marketing took off. I have dreadful college dorm memories of sub-par vodka screwdrivers made with TANG.

Tang was created in 1959 and taken into space in 1965 on the Gemini missions and also went to the moon later on, because it was really convenient to make. The company wasted no time in cashing in, as you can see:

But later in the 70s it fell foul of the drive against convenience foods, and though it's still available as far as I know, it never reached those 60s heights again. I know of it because of its mentions on old Saturday Night Live shows, The Coneheads ate the powder without diluting it (!).
 
Tang was created in 1959 and taken into space in 1965 on the Gemini missions and also went to the moon later on, because it was really convenient to make. The company wasted no time in cashing in, as you can see:

But later in the 70s it fell foul of the drive against convenience foods, and though it's still available as far as I know, it never reached those 60s heights again. I know of it because of its mentions on old Saturday Night Live shows, The Coneheads ate the powder without diluting it (!).
Any connection with the Tango of today?
 
My parents took us to Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Centre in the mid 80's and I bought some freeze dried space food from the tourist shop .... I bought some of the ice cream (I brought another one back for my best mate) but I remember bringing back something else savoury as well ... seems like only ice cream is available to the public now:

http://www.thespaceshop.com/freezmeal.html
 
My parents took us to Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Centre in the mid 80's and I bought some freeze dried space food from the tourist shop .... I bought some of the ice cream (I brought another one back for my best mate) but I remember bringing back something else savoury as well ... seems like only ice cream is available to the public now:

http://www.thespaceshop.com/freezmeal.html

I loved the freeze-dried strawberries we bought there. Tastier even than fresh, IMO. :)

One of the Apollo 16 astronauts lived in our town and would tell a story about losing a package of spagetti in space. Which still must be out there, somewhere...
 
I loved the freeze-dried strawberries we bought there. Tastier even than fresh, IMO. :)

One of the Apollo 16 astronauts lived in our town and would tell a story about losing a package of spagetti in space. Which still must be out there, somewhere...

Sounds like a wind-up. Can you imagine eating spaghetti in a weightless environment?
 
Sounds like a wind-up. Can you imagine eating spaghetti in a weightless environment?

You'd just need to suck the pasta through a tube, and spaghetti is tube-shaped.
 
Every religion needs an iconoclast to shake things up.
 
Apparently they really did have freeze-dried spaghetti on the Apollo flights. It's mentioned in this article, amongst others
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unpack-a-meal-of-astronaut-space-food-73348642/
Some of those foods sound quite awful. Can't blame the astronauts for not wanting them! A bacon bar? Eww.

i just wish I could remember the exact circumstances in which he says he lost the spaghetti. I know where he lives....would it be too weird to show up at his door and ask? Yes, probably...
 
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