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Spinoff story
Heat Pipes for Alaskan Oil
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
McDonnell Douglas Corporation is using a heat-pipe device, developed through the space program, to transport oil from Alaska's rich North Slope fields. It is being used to keep the ground frozen along the 798-mile pipeline saving hundreds of millions of dollars and protecting the tundra environment. Heatpipes are totally automatic, they sense and respond to climatic conditions with no moving parts, require no external power, and never need adjustment or servicing.