To meet the many goals of space exploration and aeronautical development, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the aerospace industry sought many innovations in a number of science and technology fields. This storehouse of knowledge has provided a broad technical foundation for stimulating secondary applications of these different developments. Each application is a result of "spinoffs" of both space and aeronautical research.

A spinoff is a technology that has been transferred to uses other than the purpose for which it was developed. In the early twenty-first century, it is difficult to find an area in everyday life into which a spinoff has not penetrated, yet many people are unaware of the existence of these breakthroughs.

Spinoffs in Medical Applications

Walking through the emergency ward of modern hospitals reveals many changes in equipment stemming from early U.S. manned space programs...