Who Invented It?

Have you ever wondered who invented the things we use in space? It's surprising how many inventions have made their way outside of Earth's atmosphere and even outside our solar system. Exploration is often the reason new things are invented.  Inventions are a result of curiosity, ingenuity, and the need to simplify life.  Some of the every day items of today were first invented centuries ago.

Space Inventions and Adaptations

The Hubble Space Telescope or the Space Shuttle are obvious examples of space inventions. However, many inventions that don't seem to relate to space have interesting space connections. Inventions like the internet, Google and the phonograph, all have their unique role in space exploration.

Food Inventions Adapted for Space

Many common foods we eat on earth have been adapted for consumption in space. Foods like peanut butter and pizza are enjoyed by astronauts aboard the the International Space Station (ISS). Preparing and consuming foods in space often requires adaptations to the food so astronauts can eat (and enjoy) it in zero gravity.

Urban Myths and Legends

Some inventions are the subject of urban legends such as the pencil. Legend has it that the American space program spent millions of dollars to develop a space pen while the Russians just used a pencil. You'll have to read the article to get the real story on that subject and many more.

 

 

Return from Who Invented to Home

OTHER PAGES ABOUT WHO INVENTED

Who Invented Coca Cola

Who invented Coca Cola, the first soft drink consumed in space? Pemberton, who invented Coca Cola, was unskilled in marketing, so his accountant, Frank Robinson, came into the picture. On July 12, 1985, Coca-Cola became the first soft drink to be consumed in space when astronauts tested the "Coca-Cola Space Can" aboard Space Shuttle Challenger.

Who Invented the Hubble Telescope

Who Invented the Hubble Telescope? Lyman Spitzer first proposed sending a large telescope into orbit in 1946, he knew it was going to take a while. NASA approved plans for the telescope, named after famed astronomer Edwin Hubble, in 1968, with a launch date planned for 1979 aboard the space shuttle

Who Invented Plastic

Who invented plastics? Plastic materials play an important role in space exploration. New plastics materials are constantly being researched to survive the harsh environment of space. Plastics are used to "dress" an insulate spacecraft and they are used to in astronauts suits.

Who Invented Google

Who Invented Google? Google was invented by two Ph.D. students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, while they were studying computer science at Stanford University in California. These future tech titans came to create the world’s most popular search engine via very different paths.

Who Invented Google Earth

Who Invented Google Earth? It might surprise you to learn that Google didn't actually invent the technology behind it. That honor goes to another Silicon Valley company that was partly funded by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Who Invented the Steam Engine

Who Invented the Steam Engine? Primitive steams engines go back to at least the First Century AD. However, it would take about 1,600 years for anyone to invent a steam engine that could be used for practical purposes, and even longer still for inventors to apply them to rockets.

Who Invented the Pacemaker

Who Invented the Pacemaker: The artificial pacemaker is a wonder of modern science. This vital medical device owes much to the advances in electronics and communications brought about by the Space Age.

Who Invented Peanut Butter

Who invented peanut butter? Did the ancient Aztecs or Incas invent peanut butter? Did George Washington Carver invent peanut butter? Marcellus Gilmore Edson was the first person to patent peanut butter in 1884.

Who Invented the iPod

Who invented the iPod? In 2008, some eagle-eye space cadets pouring over pictures of a NASA space shuttle mission noticed a shiny, silvery object in some of the photos. No, it wasn't a UFO. The object was an Apple iPod.

Who Invented Pizza

Wondering who invented pizza? Who invented pizza delivery to space? Everybody loves a good pizza, even astronauts. The modern version of pizza - covered in tomato sauce - didn’t come into being until the 18th century but now astronauts have had pizza delivered in space.

Who Invented the Rocket

Who Invented the Rocket? Although the Chinese are credited with having invented the rocket as early as the 3rd Century AD, it was not until the 20th Century that it began to take on its modern form. For that, we can thank a Russian mathematician, an American professor, and an Austro-Hungarian physicist.

Who Invented the Phonograph

Who Invented the Phonograph? Edison invented the phonograph, Bell improved upon its design, Elvis recorded music for it, and Sagan helped to select sounds for two phonograph records that NASA sent to the stars in the hopes that aliens would someday listen to them.

Who Invented the Pencil

Who invented the pencil? The origins of the humble pencil go back thousands of years. During the space race, a story has circulated that NASA had spent 10 years and $12 million developing the space pen while the Soviets used cheap pencil. Is this pencil legend Fact of Fiction?

Who Invented the Automobile

To Karl Benz, the man who invented the automobile, the moon was not a destination in 1885. Although self-powered vehicles had existed in various forms, Benz is credited with invented and patenting the first modern car.

Who Invented Sign Language

Who Invented Sign Language? - A Spanish priest named Juan Pablo Bonet invented modern sign language - Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, helped to develop American Sign Language - astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson made history by bringing sign language to the International Space Station.

Who Invented Popcorn

Do you know who invented popcorn? And what would happen if you tried to cook popcorn in space? Before we go into orbit, let's go back in time. Popcorn is one of the oldest known forms of maize.

Who Invented the First Computer?

Who Invented the First Computer: When most people think of the first computers, they imagine the building-sized behemoths, such as ENIAC, that were developed after World War II. However, the computer goes back to over a century earlier.

Who Invented the Space Shuttle

Who Invented the Space Shuttle: The question of who invented the shuttle is a complicated one. The simplest answer is NASA. The actual answer is a bit more complex. The shuttle was too large to be invented by one person. And its design was deeply influenced by a complex set of financial, technical, and political considerations.

Who Invented the Telescope

Who Invented the Telescope? The telescope is one of the most important inventions in history. Despite its profound nature, it is not easy to answer the question of who invented the first telescope.

Space Inventions

When you ask people what space inventions made it from the capsule into everyday life, you usually get four answers: Tang, Velcro, Teflon, and the space pen. All these responses are wrong. Although NASA used these products during space missions, it invented none of them.

Spaceship House

The spaceship house was one of the most unusual things inspired by the Space Age. Back in the 1960s, space was all the rage. The United States and the Soviet Union raced each other to the Moon. Communications satellites shrunk the world. And new technologies promised a world of plenty and leisure.

Who Invented Dynamite

Who invented dynamite? The explosives used on the shuttle and the other space vehicles can trace their origins back to Alfred Nobel, a Swedish engineer who invented dynamite back in 1867.

Who Invented Glue

Glue evolved over the millennia that followed into increasingly sophisticated forms. Burt Rutan invented super strong adhesive to glue the fuel tank to the fuselage in his spaceship.

Who Invented the Light Bulb

Thomas Edison and British inventor Joseph Swan can both lay claim to having invented practical light bulbs that were commercially viable. However, they were building on the work of nearly two dozen inventors who came before them.

Who Invented the Personal Computer

In 1973, Wang and Xerox invented personal computers that resemble the personal computers we know today. The Commodore PET became the first successfully mass marketed personal computer after it was introduced in January 1977. Apple introduced the Apple II in June of the same year, followed by the TRS-80 from Radio Shack in November.