NASA celebrates private sector deployments of space-born tech in its latest Spinoff

(It’s about 60 pages, so pour some coffee and settle in.)I talked with Daniel Lockney, the head of NASA’s Tech Transfer Program overseeing the deployment of its tech and research among terrestrial companies looking to put it to good use.“Typically what happens is: NASA develops something, they report it to my office, and we look at it to figure out, first, does it work? The 1958 NASA act that created us says to disseminate our work — nothing in there about making a dime.”The result is cheap or free licensing of interesting tech like compact, long-lasting water filters, unusual mechanical components and other tech that was needed for space or launch purposes but might find a second use on the ground.Lockney highlighted a couple items in the latest batch that he thought were especially interesting.“There was a partnership with GM to develop the Robo-Glove, a functional glove that astronauts will wear to help reduce strain during repetitive tasks and increase grip strength,” he said.