Foreword
For a quarter of a century we have been writing about the effect NASA
research and development has on you, the individual taxpayer, on industry
and its commercial successes, and on the quality of life for humankind.
In no small measure, this organization's scientific and engineering endeavors
have favorably impacted our existence on Earth.
 Past, current, and future aerospace programs will continue to provide
technological advances that keep our industry in the forefront of global
competition, contribute to major improvements in the health field, and
improve lives in general.
Federal agencies are experiencing large-scale funding cuts in an effort
to decrease the national deficit. NASA's Strategic Plan, as well as its
reorganization, realignment, and restructuring, have positioned the Agency
to continue its mandate: the expansion of frontiers and the exploration
of that which lies beyond the horizon--space, planets, and other solar
systems. In aeronautics, NASA will facilitate major improvements in global
civil aviation impacting safety, revolutionary technology leaps cutting
the development cycle for aircraft, and access to space resulting in reduction
of payload cost to low-Earth orbit.
At the same time, a new way of doing business ensures that the technologies
developed will have maximum commercial potential. This will be accomplished
through proactive involvement of the private sector from the onset.
With the help of the greatest scientific and engineering minds of this
great country, NASA will push forward and continue its research. Resulting
transferrable technologies will find their way into products and services
benefiting every aspect of life--manufacturing, jobs, health, income, convenience,
exports, sales, and recreation.
Our efforts in aerospace exploration are supported by the expertise
of nine NASA field centers and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in disciplines
such as robotics, environment, life sciences, materials, sciences and engineering,
bioengineering, microgravity research, thermal efficiencies, satellite
technologies, and wind tunnel testing. The centers also ensure that the
technologies they develop quickly reach U.S. companies. They assist industry
in remaining globally competitive as well as enriching the quality of life
for all.
A sampling of research and development activities carried out at the
field centers during the past 25 years is presented with great pride in
this publication. And it is their technologies that enable NASA to contribute
so successfully to the development and enhancement of products and services,
to increased U.S. productivity, and to enhancing life in general in the
areas of medicine, environment, entertainment, recreation, and education.
All spinoffs cited in this publication in previous years and those introduced
here today are a tribute to the human spirit that brings forth technological
progress. It honors entrepreneurs and visionaries in industry who have
a keen eye for commercial success, improvements in health, and a cleaner
environment. They display a never-ending search for technological advancement
and excellence.
Daniel S. Goldin
Administrator, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration
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