Heinlein, Robert A – Expanded Universe

out that almost everything developed for space can be used in therapy

and thereby benefits both the elderly and the handicapped, the two groups

requiring the most therapy of all sorts.

“When you reach old age-say 70 and up-it approaches certainty that you will

be in some way handicapped. Not necessarily a wheelchair or crutches or a white

cane-most handicaps do not show. So all of us are customers for space spinoffs-if

not today, then soon.

Witness holds up NASA brochure. “There is no need

for me to discuss applications that NASA has already described. But this I must say:

NASA’s presentation is extremely modest; it cites only 46 applications- whereas

there are hundreds. Often one bit of research results in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th

generations; each generation usually has multiple applications-spinoffs have

spinoffs, branching out like a tree. To get a feeling for this, think of the endless

applications of Lee DeForest’s vacuum tube, Dr. Shockley’s transistor.

“Here is a way to spot space-research spinoffs: If it involves

microminiaturization of any sort, minicomputers, miniaturized long-life power

sources, highly reliable microswitches, remotely-controlled manipulators, image

enhancers, small and sophisticated robotics or cybernetics, then, no matter where

you find the item, at a critical point in its development it was part of our space

program.

“Examples:

“Image enhancer: This magic gadget runs an x-ray or fluoroscope picture

through a special computer, does things to it, then puts it back onto the screen. Or

stores it for replay. Or both. It can sharpen the contrast, take out ‘noise,’ remove

part of the picture that gets in the way of what you need to see, and do other

Wizard-of-Oz stunts.

“This is the wonder toy that took extremely weak digital code signals and

turned them into those beautiful, sharp, true-color photographs from the surface of

Mars in the Viking program and also brought us the Voyager photographs of Jupiter

and its moons.

“I first saw one in 1977 at the Medical School of the University of Arizona-saw them

put a long catheter up through a dog’s body in order to inject an x-rayopaque dye

into its brain. This does not hurt the dog. More about this later- “I did not know

what an image enhancer was until

I saw one demonstrated and did not learn until this year that it came from our space

program. Possibly the doctor did not know. M.D.’s can use instruments

with no notion that they derive from space research and a patient usually knows

as little about it as

did that dog.

“The most ironical thing about our space program is that there are thousands

of people alive today who would be dead were it not for some item derived from space

research-but are blissfully unaware of the fact-and complain about ‘wasting all that

money on stupid, useless space stunts when we have so many really important problems

to solve right here on Earth.’

“‘-all that money-‘!

“That sort of thinking would have kept Columbus at home.

“NASA’s annual budget wouldn’t carry H.E.W. ten days. The entire 10 years of

the Moon program works out to slightly less than five cents per citizen per day.

“Would you like to be a wheelchair case caught by a hurricane such as that

one that failed to swing east and instead hit the Texas and Louisiana coast? That

storm was tracked by weather satellite; there was ample warning for anyone who would

heed it-plenty of time to evacuate not only wheelchair cases but bed patients.

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“A similar storm hit Bangladesh a while back; it too was tracked by

satellite. But Bangladesh lacks means to warn its people; many thousands were

killed. Here in the United States it would take real effort to miss a hurricane

warning; even houses with no plumbing have television.

“Weather satellites are not spinoff; they are space program. But they must

be listed because bad weather of any sort is much rougher on the aged and the

handicapped than it is on the young and able-bodied.

“Portable kidney machine: If a person’s kidneys fail, he must ‘go on the

machine’ or die. ‘The machine’ is a fate so grim that the suicide rate is high.

Miniaturization has made it possible to build portable kidney machines. This not