How did NASA help make a better basketball shoe?
During the late 1970s to early 1980s, NASA used a process known as “blow rubber molding” to create their space helmets. Blow rubber molding consists of melted plastic being inserted into a mold, and compressed air being pumped into it, conforming it to the inside of the mold. It is then popped out, and the area where the air was pumped into is sealed shut, creating an air-filled pocket. In 1979, Frank Rudy, a NASA employee at the time, came up with an idea to use this sealed cushioning system as the midsole of shoes. During that time, the midsole was almost always foam, which compressed quickly, making the shoes become uncomfortable fast. "During use, athletic shoes will experience forces up to six times body weight. These forces begin to reduce the performance benefits of shoes after only one use and result in a loss of designed function. Structural walls of foam materials will become damaged from repeated excessive loading, resulting in a completely rigid system that will no longer compress when loaded and will thereby lose cushioning capability,” says Alexander Gross, a NASA aerospace engineer. Blow rubber molding, being a sealed compartment, would never deflate or compress. Rudy went to Nike, and drew up a design for the first Nike air-cushioned running shoe. The air-cushioning system was put into tennis and basketball shoes three years later. The air-cushioned Nike basketball shoe, the Nike Air, is still around today.
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