Showing 1 - 25 of 62 results
Maxime Faget
Space Capsule Design
Max Faget conceived and designed the first space capsule, Mercury, from which the designs for the Gemini capsule and the Apollo command and service…
Frank J. Cepollina
Satellite Servicing Techniques
The success of the Hubble Space Telescope is due to NASA's ability to repair and upgrade Earth-orbiting spacecraft via the space shuttle. Since its…
George R. Carruthers
Far Ultraviolet Electrographic Camera
George Carruthers invented the Far Ultraviolet Electrographic Camera. This camera uses ultraviolet light to study Earth's upper atmosphere, stars,…
George Edward Alcorn
X-ray Spectrometer
George Alcorn was a pioneering physicist and engineer noted for his aerospace and semiconductor inventions. His X-ray imaging spectrometer, patented…
Howard S. Jones Jr.
Conformal Antennas
Howard Jones invented the conformal antenna, a type of antenna found in applications including rockets, missiles and spacecraft. His innovations in…
Philippe Horvath
CRISPR-Enhanced Food Products
Molecular biologists Philippe Horvath and Rodolphe Barrangou discovered that CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) and…
Asad Madni
MEMS Gyroscope for Aerospace and Automotive Safety
Asad Madni led the development and commercialization of the MEMS gyroscope for aerospace and automotive safety. Commercialized as the GyroChip and…
Rodolphe Barrangou
CRISPR-Enhanced Food Products
Molecular biologists Rodolphe Barrangou and Philippe Horvath discovered that CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)…
Kenneth C. Jordan
Radioisotopic Thermoelectric Generator (RTG)
Ken Jordan worked as a nuclear physicist at Monsanto's Mound Laboratory for 36 years, and in 1954, he and colleague John Birden invented the…
Calvin Fuller
Silicon Solar Cell
Chemist Calvin Fuller co-invented the silicon solar cell with physicists Daryl Chapin and Gerald Pearson. Building on Albert Einstein's theories…
Alice Stoll
Fire-Resistant Fibers and Fabrics
Alice Stoll, a research physiologist and pioneer in aerospace medicine, led the development of fire-resistant fabrics in the 1960s. Her work made it…
Lorenzo L. Langstroth
Beehive
Lorenzo Langstroth invented the modern beehive in 1851, enabling a greater production of honey. The domesticated honeybee's honey is not just a food…
Lonnie Johnson
Super Soaker®
Engineer and entrepreneur Lonnie Johnson is the inventor of the Super Soaker®, a bestselling toy generating well over $1 billion in sales over its…
Robert Hutchings Goddard
Solid Fuel Rockets
Robert Hutchings Goddard pioneered modern rocketry and space flight and founded a whole field of science and engineering. Born in Worcester,…
Theophilus Van Kannel
Revolving Door
In 1888, Theophilus Van Kannel invented the revolving door, a design that characterized the entrance of modern skyscrapers.
The revolving door…
Edwin A. Link
Flight Simulator
Edwin A. Link had an impact on aerospace and hydrospace few will match. His contributions to aviation are unparalleled. He invented the first…
Willard S. Boyle
Charge-Coupled Device
Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith invented the charge-coupled device (CCD), a light-sensitive microchip that enabled dramatic advances in digital…
Nils I. Bohlin
Safety Belt
Nils Bohlin, while with Volvo, invented the three-point safety belt, a standard in the modern automobile. Early tests showed that the belt was…
Charles Stark Draper
Stabilizing Gyroscope
Aeronautical engineer and university professor Charles Stark Draper developed gyroscope systems that stabilized and balanced gunsights and bombsights…
Willard H. Bennett
Radio Frequency Mass Spectrometer
Willard Harrison Bennett pioneered the field of plasma physics and invented the radio frequency mass spectrometer. Born in Findlay, Ohio, Bennett…
Robert Bryant
LaRC-SI (Langley Research Center-Soluble Imide)
NASA chemist Robert Bryant developed a polymer called LaRC-SI (Langley Research Center-Soluble Imide), taking it from laboratory discovery to…
Bernard Oliver
Pulse Code Modulation
Bernard Oliver, one of the most prolific and influential inventors of his generation, helped give birth to the era of digital information with his…
Roger Bacon
High-Performance Carbon Fibers
In 1958, Roger Bacon's chance discovery revolutionized industries and became a multibillion-dollar a year business. While measuring the triple point…
John Joseph Lynott
Magnetic Disk Drive
John Lynott and William Goddard, together with Louis Stevens and a team of engineers, invented a unique magnetic disk storage device at the IBM Lab…
Arnold O. Beckman
pH Meter
Arnold O. Beckman invented a pH meter and the quartz spectrophotometer, an instrument which pioneered automatic chemical analysis. Born in Cullom,…