One series of tests using empty houses at Vandenberg Air Force Base compared [this new] system with a 20-gallon-per-minute, 1,400 pound-per-square-inch (psi) discharge capability (at the pump) versus a standard 100-gallon-per-minute, 125 psi standard hand line—the kind that typically takes a few firemen to control. The standard line extinguished a set fire in a living room in 1 minute and 45 seconds using 220 gallons of water. The [new] system extinguished an identical fire in 17.3 seconds using 13.6 gallons—with a hose requiring only one person to manage.
That's a quote from NASA's site about one alternative use found for new engine tech (pictured above) developed by a NASA contractor, which forces fuel into a vortex as it exits a rocket, making it far more efficient.
This is a great post about the importance of giving NASA and its contractors the funding needed to truly innovate. At the end of the day, the stuff that advances space tech very often advances Earth tch, as well.
Image via NASA
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