The $150 Space Camera: MIT Students Beat NASA On Beer-Money Budget

[wheelsup_cavu]

Story goes, about NASA and its R&D: they spent billions researching and coming up with a pen that would write in the absence of gravity. Russia sent its astronauts up....with pencils. Who knows if its true....its still funny as heck!

I've heard that one before too.
It sounds silly enough to be true.


Wheels

 

[proton45]

I've heard that one before too.
It sounds silly enough to be true.


Wheels

pencils have to be sharpened...I think the shards where an issue.

 

[Soren]

Why?

NASA (and the NRO) invented digital cameras. And it was the forerunners of NASA that did this very same thing in the 1930's.

Why ? Are you serious ? Those two kids just did what NASA would've spent thousands of dollars on duplicating. The point here is that NASA is spending a lot more money than necessary on tasks which can be just as efficiently carried out by the help of some creative thinking. (I think the pencil joke is pretty telling aswell)

As for the digital camera, AFAIK the american photo company Kodak invented the first one, not NASA.

 

[syscom3]

Why ? Are you serious ? Those two kids just did what NASA would've spent thousands of dollars on duplicating. The point here is that NASA is spending a lot more money than necessary on tasks which can be just as efficiently carried out by the help of some creative thinking. (I think the pencil joke is pretty telling aswell)

As for the digital camera, AFAIK the american photo company Kodak invented the first one, not NASA.

Care to name some of those programs?

NASA and the DOD provided the money needed to invent the space rated CCD's that Kodak was to use for the deveoplement of the first digital cameras. A lot of seperate technologies that were cutting edge for the time had to be created. And it was immensely costly to do it. In the late 60's there simply was no commercial application for digital photos and the only two potential users was the military and NASA.

 

[Soren]

Programs? All I'm saying is that NASA wouldn't have done it as cheaply as those two kids, they would've spent a lot more money. Take the 1950's stratosphere balloons that NASA was experimenting with, they were pretty darn expensive.

 

[proton45]

Programs? All I'm saying is that NASA wouldn't have done it as cheaply as those two kids, they would've spent a lot more money. Take the 1950's stratosphere balloons that NASA was experimenting with, they were pretty darn expensive.

The reason these kids can do it so cheaply is because NASA did it way back then...technology always trickles down and gets cheaper.

 

[syscom3]

The first "space shot", in 1935

AmericanHeritage.com / Space Shot: 1935