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Spinoff story
Riblets for Stars and Stripes
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Stars and Stripes racing yacht brought the American's Cup back to the United States. Originating from NASA's drag reduction technology, the boats secret weapon" was that the hull's underside was coated with riblets. Riblets are small barely visible grooves on the surface of an airplane intended to reduce skin friction by smoothing the turbulent airflow next to the skin. Grooves are V-shaped with the angle pointing in the direction of the airflow. No deeper than a scratch they have a pronounced beneficial influence on air turbulence. *No longer commercially available."