What tools ARE NOT being used in space exploration?
From wrenches to assemble the rocket to screwdrivers almost every type of mechanical tool is used to make the spacecraft. In fact the powered screwdriver was first invented for the space program so astronauts could assemble the space station.
Space exploration requires a lot of computer support so everything used to create electrical circuits and computers is needed to help with the space program. Computers are exceptionally useful when calculating the course for the space craft and the Apollo Command Module had the first personal sized computer on board. It wasn't a very powerful one, but it helped make the landing on the moon possible.
Then there are the scientific instruments from radio telescopes to the Hubble Space Telescopic we have used these instruments to scan the heavens and our own sun.
Material science was advanced because of the needs of the space program to make stronger and lighter materials, Teflon was created for use in heat shields, the creation of the space shuttle tiles lead to a better understanding of everything from Corning Wear dishes to thinner transistors and resistors.
Of course the entire field of aerodynamics was advanced by space program, the first flight faster than the speed of sound was part of a NASA program and lead directly to the Space Shuttle.
Tools used for deep sea exploration like pressure valves and carbon dioxide scrubbers all have applications in the space program. From the quartz windows first used in diving bells that are now used on the space shuttle to the gaskets which maintain the air pressure.
The need for fireproof test stands to test new engines lead to advances in construction, as well as firefighting; the first fire suits were designed to be used in these kinds of tests.
I have a hard time thinking of what tools aren’t used from microscopes to study the moon rocks to altimeters to determine when the parachutes should deploy, to the explosives that deploy them.
That’s the whole point of why we need a space program, the advances from it can be applied to so many fields and have given us so much new technology. “Necessity is the mother of invention;” and when you need to survive in space at speeds of Mach 8 you have a lot of necessity. The only other program that brought out so much technological advancement was World War 2. I don’t want another war so I think the space program, and the less than 1% of our national budget it costs, is a pretty good idea.
2007-08-28 10:20:38
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answer #1
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answered by Dan S 7
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