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Spinoff story

From Magnetic Rocket Fuel to Semiconductors

A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.

About this technology

Overview

A liquid with magnetic properties developed by NASA in the 1960s was the basis for ferrofluids now sold by MAGRON, a company in Ansan, South Korea, whose customers use them in semiconductor manufacturing, fishing rods, and other consumer products. NASA researchers at the Lewis Flight Research Laboratory – now the Glenn Research Center – originally considered the technology as way to move fuel in microgravity.