SPACE 

LAUNCH 

SYSTEM & 

ORION

SPINOFFS
DESIGN SOFTWARE LIGHTENS 

AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES

Collier Research Corporation, of Hampton, Virginia, licensed 

NASA software to design strong structures while using as little 

weight as possible. The first ever license of NASA-developed 

software, HyperSizer has now been used to design commercial 

space transport vehicles as well as commercial aircraft and wind 

turbines. The company has sales of $4 million a year and has 

received several Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 

contracts to apply its software to nearly all aspects of the new 

Orion crew capsule design.

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING 

TECHNIQUES CREATE BETTER 

NANOTUBES

To reduce Orion’s weight as much as possible, NASA explored 

the use of cutting-edge materials such as single-walled carbon 

nanotubes. SBIR contracts supported the development and 

demonstration of a nanotube production method pioneered 

by SouthWest NanoTechnologies Inc. (SWeNT), of Norman, 

Oklahoma. SWeNT’s scalable, efficient process results in massproduced nanotubes that are customizable to client needs, purer 

than those created by other methods, and applicable in everything 

from advanced body armor to energy-efficient lighting.

PROCEDURE-AUTHORING 

TOOL IMPROVES SAFETY ON 

OIL RIGS

Dark, cold, and dangerous environments are plentiful in space 

and on Earth. To ensure safe operations in difficult surroundings, 

NASA relies heavily on procedures written well ahead of time. 

Houston-based TRACLabs Inc. worked with Ames Research 

Center through the SBIR program to create an electronic 

procedure-authoring tool, now used by NASA for Orion and also 

by companies in the oil and gas industry.

CUSTOM MACHINES ADVANCE 

COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING

NASA has explored the possibility of using composite materials in 

future spacecraft, and the agency created an Orion prototype called 

the Composite Crew Module to test such technologies. Working 

under a NASA contract, Accudyne Systems Inc. of Newark, Delaware, 

developed a device for creating thermoplastic composite structures 

without the use of an expensive autoclave. The partnership yielded 

technology for the company’s commercial, custom-built composite 

manufacturing machines, helping advance composite part fabrication.
CONTROL ALGORITHMS 

CHARGE BATTERIES FASTER

Advanced Power Electronics Corporation of Orlando partnered 

with Glenn Research Center through the SBIR program to 

develop an advanced power converter for space systems. 

The company incorporated control algorithms created through 

the partnership into a solar charger that charges batteries 30 

percent faster than comparable devices.

SMART SENSORS ASSESS 

STRUCTURAL HEALTH

NASA frequently inspects launch vehicles, fuel tanks, and other 

components for structural damage. In 2001, Acellent Technologies 

Inc., of Sunnyvale, California, received SBIR funding to develop 

a smart sensor for aerospace vehicles and structures such as 

the Composite Crew Module. As a result, Acellent expanded the 

technology’s capability and now sells it to aerospace, defense, 

automotive, construction, energy, utility, and transportation 

companies for structural condition monitoring, damage detection, 

crack growth monitoring, and other applications.

LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS 

PROTECT DEEP-SEA DIVERS

Paragon Space Development Corporation, based in Tucson, 

Arizona, worked with NASA on life support systems for nextgeneration spacecraft such as Orion. The company has used the 

same technology for advanced suits that protect specialist divers 

working in extreme and dangerous conditions, such as high 

pressure, toxic chemical spills, the hot waters of the Persian Gulf, 

and chemical warfare agents.

INNOVATIVE TOOLS ADVANCE 

REVOLUTIONARY WELD 

TECHNIQUE

NASA‘s SLS tanks are being constructed using friction stir welding 

(FSW), a solid-state welding process that results in stronger, nearly 

defect-free joints. Nova-Tech Engineering LLC, of Lynnwood, 

Washington, licensed NASA technology that significantly improves FSW 

in multiple respects by using an auto-retractable pin tool. The innovation 

now allows NovaTech’s FSW machines to perform effective welds for 

offshore drilling rig piping, armor plating, and rocket manufacturing.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is designed to take astronauts 

farther than anyone has ever gone before: to the Moon 

and even Mars. To propel Orion into space, NASA is also 

developing what will be the most powerful rocket ever 

built, the Space Launch System (SLS). SLS and Orion will 

provide entirely new capabilities and will initiate the next 

chapter of our nation’s exploration of the solar system. All 

of this will be powered by cutting-edge technology that 

has applications not only in space but on Earth as well: 

advanced materials, manufacturing techniques, design 

software, and life support equipment are just a few of the 

many spinoffs that have already come from Orion and 

SLS—with many more sure to come.

For more information about these 

and other NASA spinoffs, please visit 

spinoff.nasa.gov

www.nasa.gov FS-2015-11-002-JSC