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Spinoff story
A Match Made in Space
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
To prevent the highly complex Reaction Control System engines from malfunctioning during space shuttle flights, and to provide a diagnosis if such a mishap were to occur, NASA turned advanced artificial intelligence. Inventor Michael Georgeff assisted NASA by developing the first intelligent agent software system to ever go into space. This system could make decisions and deal with problems through a human-like power of reasoning. In 1998 the intelligent agent software came down to Earth to improve the operation of a different kind of engine: an online matchmaking search engine.