Spinoff 2005; NP-2005-12-419-HQ

Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Innovative Partnerships Program, 2005. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. Wraps. Very good. Format 8.5 inches by 11 inches oblong. 167, [1] pages. Wraps. Profusely illustrated (many in color). Maps, Cover slightly worn and soiled. Foreword by Administrator Michael D. Griffin. Michael Douglas Griffin (born November 1, 1949) is an American physicist and aerospace engineer. He served as Administrator of NASA, the U.S. space agency, from April 13, 2005, to January 20, 2009. As NASA Administrator Griffin oversaw such areas as the future of human spaceflight, the fate of the Hubble telescope and NASA's role in understanding climate change. In April 2009 Griffin, who has an academic background, was named eminent scholar and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Griffin had worked at NASA prior to serving as NASA Administrator, including as Associate Administrator for Exploration. When he was nominated as NASA chief, he was head of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. While he describes himself modestly as a "simple aerospace engineer from a small town", Griffin has held several high-profile political appointments. In 2007 he was included in the TIME 100, the magazine's list of the 100 most influential people. Introduction by Merle McKenzie, Acting Director, Innovative Partnerships Program. She had previously been manager of JPL's Technology Transfer and Commercialization Program. Since its inception in 1958, NASA has accomplished many great scientific and technological feats in air and space. NASA technology also has been adapted for many non-aerospace uses by the private sector. NASA remains a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technology in general. Perhaps more importantly, our exploration of space has taught us to view Earth, ourselves, and the universe in a new way. While the tremendous technical and scientific accomplishments of NASA demonstrate vividly that humans can achieve previously inconceivable feats, we also are humbled by the realization that Earth is just a tiny "blue marble" in the cosmos. Spinoff profiles NASA technologies that have transformed into commercial products and services. About 50 spinoff technologies are featured annually in the publication, demonstrating the wider benefits of America's investment in its space program. NASA has a long history of transferring technology to the private sector. The Technology Transfer Program was formally established in 1964 in response to a congressional mandate to facilitate the process, and the program has functioned under various names ever since, making it NASA's longest continuously operated mission. Early publications about NASA inventions, made available to the scientific and engineering communities, resulted in feedback that indicated a broad interest in the private sector in acquiring and adapting NASA technology for commercial uses. As spinoff products began to emerge, NASA began preparing annual reports on these successes to present at congressional budget hearings. These black and white Technology Utilization Program Reports, published in 1973 and '74, generated so much public interest that NASA decided to turn them into an attractive publication for a general audience. The first four-color edition of Spinoff was published in 1976, and it has been published every year since, sharing the stories of nearly 2,000 products and services that began as, or have benefited from, NASA technology.