"This program has enormous potential, not only to recognize and encourage innovators, but also to bring awareness of the many benefits of space to the public," said Bill Knudsen, the foundation's president and CEO.

This year's winners are:

• Putting Cancers and Tumors Under a New Light: A NASA need to grow plants in microgravity required light sources that drew less power and produced less heat. Research by the NASA-supported Wisconsin Center for Space Automation & Robotics sparked the idea for using light emitting diodes (LEDs). Working with Quantum Devices, Inc. of Barneveld, Wisconsin, a system was developed that can support plant photosynthesis. Out of that grew a new light source treatment for skin cancers and brain tumors.
• Direct-to-Home Television: Hughes Electronics Corp. pioneered the concept of a digitally based, direct-broadcast satellite that would provide services directly to home consumers. The company invested $750 million to develop a system that included three high-powered satellites, a broadcast center and other equipment. DirecTV, which began in 1991 as an alternative to cable, now offers over 210 channels of service and has more than 6 million customers.
• No Friction Fiction: The massive mobile launch transporter that hauls the space shuttle to the launch pad requires special lubricant produced by Sun Coast Chemicals of Daytona. Not only is the lubricant superior to anything else, it satisfies environmental requirements of being biodegradable and is long lasting. The X-1R Crawler Track Lube has led to three new products for train tracks, as well as a rust prevention spray and an environmentally friendly hydraulic fluid for various brake applications.

Other spin-offs honored by the Hall of Fame this year include a blood sample separation device, a portable instrument to study spectral light and a concept to develop and demonstrate a laser system designed to remove most of the space clutter above Earth.

Nominations for the Space Technology Hall of Fame are solicited from NASA centers and other government agencies, as well as commercial aerospace and technology firms.

They are judged on a number of factors, including economic benefit and value to society.

Past winners have included liquid-cooled garments, cordless power tools and a blood pump crafted by famed heart specialist Michael DeBakey, which was based on the fluid flow of rocket-engine valves.