WEBVTT

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[dramatic percussion music]

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- HEY, AND WELCOME
TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."

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I'M YOUR HOST,
ALICIA SEARS.

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HAVE YOU EVER SLEPT
ON MEMORY FOAM?

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HOW ABOUT WORN A PAIR
OF SCRATCH RESISTANT LENSES?

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MAYBE YOU'VE WATCHED
SATELLITE TELEVISION?

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WELL, IF YOU HAVE,

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THEN YOU'VE BENEFITED
FROM NASA-AIDED TECHNOLOGY,

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MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS SPINOFFS.

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WHEN CONGRESS CREATED NASA
IN 1958,

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THEY HAD BIG VISIONS FOR SPACE.

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BUT CONGRESS ALSO MANDATED
THAT THE TIME AND MONEY

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BEING INVESTED IN SPACE
NEEDED TO COME BACK TO EARTH

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IN THE FORM
OF PRACTICAL BENEFITS.

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SO THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY,

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NASA HAS WORKED TO TRANSFER
NEWLY DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGIES

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TO THE PUBLIC SECTOR.

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THESE SPINOFFS ARE MORE COMMON
THAN YOU MIGHT REALIZE.

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NASA SPINOFFS
CAN ACTUALLY BE FOUND

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IN NEARLY EVERY FIELD
OF HUMAN ENDEAVOR,

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INCLUDING ENERGY, ELECTRONICS,
INDUSTRY, MEDICINE,

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NUTRITION, OCEANOGRAPHY, SAFETY,
AND EVEN URBAN DEVELOPMENT.

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HERE'S ASTRONAUT AL DREW

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TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE
ABOUT SPINOFFS.

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- WHEN YOU HAVE
A DIFFICULT PROGRAM,

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WHEN YOU HAVE TO GO
SOLVE PROBLEMS

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YOU NEVER SOLVED BEFORE,

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YOU OFTEN CREATE SOLUTIONS
TO PROBLEMS

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YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD.

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I THINK ABOUT ISAAC NEWTON,

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WHO WAS TRYING TO DESCRIBE
PLANETARY MOTION

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BACK IN THE LATE 1600s,

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DIDN'T HAVE THE MATH TO DO IT,

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SO HE INVENTED CALCULUS, OKAY?

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SO WE'VE HAD A FEW USES
FOR CALCULUS SINCE THEN.

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A LOT OF THE SPINOFFS
WE'VE GOT NOW

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BECAUSE WE'RE OUT THERE
SOLVING UNIQUE PROBLEMS

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LIKE TRYING TO GO TO THE MOON,

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TRYING TO BUILD A SPACE STATION,

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AND SO WE GO OUT AND INVENT
SOLUTIONS TO OUR PROBLEMS,

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AND SOMEBODY
LOOKS AT THAT, GOING,

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"BOY, WE COULD USE THAT
FOR SOMETHING ELSE."

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THAT'S THE BIG BEAT
OF OUR SPACE PROGRAM.

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THERE'S BOOKS AND BOOKS
OF SPINOFF TECHNOLOGIES,

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BUT THEY ALL HAVE
THAT KIND OF SAME THING.

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THE GUY WHO--WHOEVER--
OR LADY

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WHO INVENTED
THAT SPINOFF TECHNOLOGY

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WASN'T TRYING TO BUILD
SOME NEW TURBO PUMP FOR HEARTS

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OR NEW FIRE EXTINGUISHER THING.

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THEY WERE TRYING TO SOLVE
A PARTICULAR PROBLEM.

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- ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC
PROGRAMS FOR SPINOFF GENERATION

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HAS BEEN NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE.

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IN ITS THREE DECADES
OF OPERATION,

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THE SHUTTLE HAS PRODUCED
OVER 130 DIFFERENT SPINOFFS

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THAT IMPACT PEOPLE'S LIVES
ON EARTH, INCLUDING YOURS.

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DO YOU WEAR CONTACT LENSES
OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO DOES?

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WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW

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IS THAT ASTRONAUTS
ON BOARD THE SPACE SHUTTLE

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PERFORMED EXPERIMENTS
AS PART OF A RESEARCH PROJECT

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THAT LED TO
BETTER FUNCTIONING CONTACTS.

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THREE EXPERIMENTS THAT FLEW ON
THREE SEPARATE SHUTTLE MISSIONS

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RESULTED IN CONTACT LENSES
THAT ARE GAS PERMEABLE,

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RESISTANT TO DEPOSITS,

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AND LESS LIKELY
TO HARBOR BACTERIA,

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LEADING THE WAY FOR THE
NEXT-GENERATION CONTACT LENSES

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WE USE EVERY DAY.

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AND GET THIS:

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THE TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWS
THE SPACE SHUTTLE

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TO AUTONOMOUSLY DOCK WITH
AND SERVICE SATELLITES

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RESULTED IN A NEW TRACKING
TECHNOLOGY DOCTORS TODAY UTILIZE

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IN LASIK EYE SURGERY.

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THE EYE TRACKING DEVICE
IS CAPABLE

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OF SAMPLING THE EYE'S POSITION
AT A RATE

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OF AT LEAST 1,000 TIMES
PER SECOND DURING SURGERY.

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SO THANKS TO THIS
SPACE SHUTTLE SPINOFF,

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ASTIGMATISM CORRECTION HAS BEEN
SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED.

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EVEN AS YOU WATCH THIS VIDEO,

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YOU'RE OBSERVING
A SPACE SHUTTLE SPINOFF.

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IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE SHAKINESS
OF SHUTTLE LAUNCH VIDEOS,

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NASA ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS
DEVELOPED

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AN ENHANCED VIDEO IMAGING
AND STABILIZATION TECHNOLOGY.

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THE TECHNOLOGY REMOVES DEFECTS
DUE TO IMAGE JITTER,

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IMAGE ROTATION,
AND IMAGE ZOOM.

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SO YOUR FOOTAGE CAN GO
FROM THIS TO THIS.

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MECHANISMS ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE

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LIKE THOSE USED
TO LIFT THE LANDING GEAR

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OR MOVE THE WING FLAPS

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ARE NOW FOUND IN MUSEUMS
OR AT AMUSEMENT PARKS.

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MOTION SIMULATORS
USE AN ADAPTED VERSION

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OF THIS SPACE SHUTTLE TECHNOLOGY

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TO REPRODUCE THE EFFECTS
OR FEELINGS

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OF BEING IN A MOVING VEHICLE.

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IT CAN ALSO BE USED TO ENHANCE
FLIGHT SIMULATORS,

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GIVING PILOTS A MUCH MORE
REALISTIC TRAINING EXPERIENCE.

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SPACE SHUTTLE SPINOFFS AREN'T
NECESSARILY TECHNOLOGIES.

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THE SPINOFF MAY SIMPLY BE

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AN APPLICATION
OF SOMETHING LEARNED

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AS A RESULT OF THE EXPERIMENTS
DONE ON THE SHUTTLE.

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THAT'S THE CASE
WITH THIS NEXT SPINOFF.

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RESEARCHERS STUDYING
THE AERODYNAMICS

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OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE

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APPLIED WHAT THEY LEARNED
TO EARTHBOUND TRANSPORTATION.

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USING EXPERTISE GAINED FROM
DESIGNING THE SPACE SHUTTLE,

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ENGINEERS WERE ABLE TO ALTER
THE SHAPE OF LARGE VEHICLES

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LIKE BIG RIGS.

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ROUNDING CORNERS AND EDGES

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AND ADDING FIXTURES
KNOWN AS FAIRINGS

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IMPROVE AERODYNAMIC EFFICIENCY,

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WHICH ULTIMATELY LEADS TO
IMPROVED GAS MILEAGE

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AND BETTER VEHICLE CONTROL.

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WE CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO TELL YOU
HOW MANY OTHER EXPERIMENTS

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HAVE PROVIDED
THOSE TANGIBLE BENEFITS

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THAT CONGRESS HOPED TO SEE
WHEN THEY CREATED NASA.

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WE CAN SAY THAT EXPERIMENTS
ON THE SHUTTLE

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HAVE IMPROVED EVERYTHING
FROM KETCHUP TO MOTOR OIL,

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HAVE INSPIRED
EXOTIC PERFUME SCENTS,

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BECAUSE FLOWERS DEVELOP
UNIQUE AROMAS IN SPACE,

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AND HAVE EVEN REVEALED THE
SECRETS OF FIRE HERE ON EARTH.

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THE PAYBACK
HAS LITERALLY BEEN ASTRONOMICAL.

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- TO BE A GREAT NATION,
WE MUST DO GREAT THINGS,

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AND SO IF WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO
HAVE A LEGACY OF GREAT THINGS,

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TO REAP FROM THESE THINGS,

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WE HAVE TO GO OUT AND DO THINGS
THAT ARE TOUGH

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LIKE GOING TO MARS.

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I GUARANTEE YOU BY THE TIME
WE GET TO MARS,

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WE'LL HAVE INVENTED SO MANY
NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO GET THERE

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AND SO TRANSFORM HOW WE LIVE
OUR LIVES

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THAT IT WILL MAKE IT WORTH IT.

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WHATEVER PROBLEMS
WE NEED TO SOLVE TO GO TO MARS,

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WE'LL FIND WILL HAVE
APPLICATIONS

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HERE IN SOCIETY AS WELL,

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AND SO I THINK THAT'S THE BIGGER
THING IS THAT

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YOU MAKE YOURSELF SMARTER
AND STRONGER

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BY TAKING ON
THESE TOUGH PROJECTS.

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AND THE SPINOFFS ARE KIND OF
A SERENDIPITOUS BYPRODUCT OF IT.

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- THROUGHOUT
THE SPACE SHUTTLE ERA,

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NASA'S FLEET OF SHUTTLES
HAS MADE

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OVER 20,000 ORBITS AROUND EARTH.

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THE SHUTTLES HAVE CARRIED
CREW AND PAYLOADS

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BOTH LARGE AND SMALL
INTO SPACE,

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ASSEMBLED, STAFFED,
AND MAINTAINED

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THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION,

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CARRIED SATELLITES INTO ORBIT,

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AND DEPLOYED AND SERVICED
THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE.

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ALL OF THESE FEATS
HAVE LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT

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OF SOME AMAZING
SPINOFF TECHNOLOGIES

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THAT CONTINUE TO IMPACT
OUR LIVES DAILY.

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SPINOFFS FROM THE SHUTTLE
JUST BECAUSE IT FLEW.

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SEE YOU NEXT TIME
ON "NASA LAUNCHPAD."