Spinoff story

Modified Fittings Enhance Industrial Safety

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

About this technology

Overview

Concerned with the safety of the connections on pressurized air hoses, engineers at Kennedy Space Center modified a fitting to control the air supply hose in the event of an accidental release. An Enid, Oklahoma-based business, PT Coupling Company, licensed the technology and incorporated it into a new line of products to automatically prevent rapid separation of the fittings, enhancing worker safety.