Super grease slides into space hall of fame
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The transporter crawler carries the space shuttle Discovery to the launch pad in this file image
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April 6, 2000
Web posted at: 1:31 PM EDT (1731 GMT)
By Richard Stenger
CNN Interactive Staff Writer
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (CNN) -- A super lubricant that greases the 12 million pound shuttle transporter and a telecommunications system that evolved into DirecTV are the latest inductees into the Space Technology Hall of Fame.
Only 34 products have joined the elite group since 1988, when the U.S. Space Foundation and NASA began honoring space program technologies that spin into useful terrestrial products. Past honorees include cordless power tools, first
used by astronauts and now commonplace in households, and the DeBakey heart pump.
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An environmentally friendly lubricant that transports the space shuttle earned a spot in the 2000 Hall of Fame class. The Kennedy Space Center in Florida, needing a non-toxic lubricant for a crawler that moves the space shuttle to its launch pad, called on SunCoast Chemicals in Daytona Beach.
'The EPA was getting on their case'
"They (KSC) were desperate. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) was getting on their case," said SunCoast representative Chris Fornilli on Wednesday. The old petroleum-based lubricant contained oils and heavy metals, creating environmental concerns, he said.
"Ours is synthetic and biodegradable," Fornilli said.
The X-IR lubricant works in unusually demanding conditions. The size of a football field, the space shuttle truck crawler must carry a 12 million pound payload as it rumbles to the launch pad at a steady 1 mph pace.
"The tip of the shuttle can't move more than the size of a basketball, so it has to be a real smooth ride," said CEO Buck Parker Sr.
Many industries now use variations of the lubricant in greases, brake fluid and air conditioner compressor fluids, the Space Foundation said. Users include auto makers, mining and drilling companies and the largest ocean vessels in the world, according to SunCoast.
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Chris Fornilli, Les Byrne and E.T. Longo show their slippery
space shuttle stuff
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TV dish, surgical light also honored
Another inductee is a technology from military and telecommunications satellites that Hughes Space and Communications Co. and DirecTV used to develop a direct-to-home television service for residential customers.
As a result, DirecTV enters the homes of millions through a small dish that receives transmissions from DirecTV's satellite network and broadcast center, "forever changing the way people watch television," a Space Foundation statement said.
Light emitting diodes designed to stimulate plant growth in space earned the third and final 2000 Hall of Fame award. The Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics created the LEDs. Quantum Devices Inc. then adapted them for medical applications, developing a light source that hospitals can use in surgical environments.
The Space Foundation was to honor the trio during an awards ceremony Thursday evening at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
"It is significant that the judges chose these three technologies because of their diversity of impact upon all of us," said Space Foundation spokesman Steve Eisenhart in a statement.
Past inductees to the Space Technology Hall of Fame:
1999
- Active Pixel Sensor
- DeBakey Blood Pump
- Heart Defibrillator Energy Source
- Miniature Accelerometer
1998
- Global Positioning System (GPS)
- Temper Foam
1997
- Advanced Communications Technology
- Stereotactic Breast Biopsy
1996
- Anti-Shock Trousers
- Fire-Resistant Aircraft Seats
- Radiant Barrier
1995
- Anti-Corrosion Coatings
- Parawings (or Hang Gliders)
1994
- Digital Image Processing - Medical Applications
- Excimer Laser Angioplasty System
1993
- Liquid-Cooled Garments
- Physiological Monitoring Instrumentation
1992
- Direct Readout Satellite Data System
- Earth Resources Laboratory Applications Software - ELAS
1991
- Automatic Implantable Cardiovertor Defibrillator
- PMR-15 Polymide Resin
1990
- Heat Pipe Systems
- Safety Grooving
1989
- Cordless Tools
- Fabric Roof Structures
- Scratch-Resistant Lenses
1988
- Improved Firefighter's Breathing System
- NASA Structural Analysis Computer Software - NASTRAN
- Power Factor Controller
- Programmable Implantable Medication System
- Sewage Treatment With Water Hyacinths
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