NASA’s New Site Allows Race Fans to Learn About Fire-Resistant Materials

“Rockets to Race Cars” is a new interactive website that has been launched by NASA for race fans. This site provides details of several racing contributions of NASA and its usage in the racing industry. It also allows users to learn more about the development of better brakes, fire-resistant materials, heat-resistant paint and many other spinoffs of the agency.

The agency has collaborated with many racing companies for testing their cars and has also used proven technology to establish the industry in a faster and safer way. In 1996, Penske Racing team joined hands with NASA to discover a solution for keeping their drivers more at ease during the races. The cockpit of the drivers has been cooled by 30 to 50° by utilizing scrap material from the Thermal Protection System (TPS) blankets of the Space Shuttle. At present, the material is used commonly by race cars across the nation.

“Rockets to Race Cars” online program describes the scope of space technology and research initiatives of NASA. The site complements a "NASA Rockets to Race Cars" exhibit that demonstrates a race car highlighting few technology benefits provided to the racing and automobile industries.