Invention 5: Long-distance Telecommunications

The ability to carry on long-distance telephone conversations did not happen overnight. It doesn't link back to one specific NASA invention -- improved telecommunication took place over decades of work.

Before humans were sent into space, NASA built satellites that could communicate with people on the ground about what outer space was like. Using similar satellite technology, around 200 communication satellites orbit the globe each day. These satellites send and receive messages that allow us to call our friends in Beijing when we're in Boston. NASA monitors the locations and health of many of these satellites to ensure that we can continue to talk to people around the corner or overseas.

The Tang Myth As you can see, the innovative research funded through NASA plays an important role in our daily lives. But sometimes people attribute products to NASA that it actually had no role in developing. The most common misconception involves the fruity powdered drink, Tang. While you may often hear that NASA invented Tang as a space drink, General Mills actually made it for the first time in 1957. It became linked with NASA because it was selected as part of a 1962 experiment to find the optimal foods to eat in space.