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Spinoff story
Mars Rover Work Spawns PDF Collaboration Software
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Among the first projects undertaken by Alliance Space Systems, founded by NASA engineers, were robotic arms for Jet Propulsion Laboratory rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The company wanted to streamline circulation and editing of documents and improve conversions of computer-aided designs into PDFs. The software it developed became the first product from spinoff company Bluebeam Software Inc. of Pasadena, California. The company has more than 650,000 users and was recently purchased for $100 million.