www.sea-technology.com November 2017 / st 15
T
ang, Velcro and Teflon…NASA spinoffs? Actually, no.
But did you know your EPIRB (electronic position-indi-
cating radio beacon) is? In collaboration with NOAA, Coast
Guard, Air Force and other U.S. agency partners, NASA
developed the technology, which has reduced search times
from hours to a few minutes, saving thousands of lives.
Government-sponsored research and development
(R&D;) can often benefit our day-to-day work at sea. Future-
Waves, a revolutionary new system developed for the Of-
fice of Naval Research (ONR) by Applied Physical Sciences
Corp. of General Dynamics (GD-APS) in Groton, Connecti-
cut, is another spinoff. FutureWaves is a direct result of the
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps' effort to reduce risk, enhance
safety and expand operational envelopes through science
and technology (S&T;). Using a specialized marine X-band
wave radar to measure the surrounding ocean wave energy,
FutureWaves provides best heading and speed to minimize
ship motions and forecasts specific individual wave events,
which can indicate excessive ship motion up to 5 minutes
before it actually occurs. The numerous applications of this
technology will help to mitigate risk while increasing oper-
ability on countless types of offshore vessels, rigs and plat-
forms.
Seabasing
Military doctrine has long recognized that a forward
presence provides significant advantage. However, forward
Addressing Military
Seabasing Challenges
FutureWaves Enables Safer Offshore Work, Improved Operability
By John Kusters
(Top) A U.S. Navy landing craft air cushion (LCAC) approaches the expeditionary transfer dock (ESD) USNS John Glenn during
exercise Pacific Horizon 2017. (Bottom) Seabasing overview.
(Photo
Credit:
U.S.
Marine
Corps,
Roxanna
Gonzalez)
(Image
Credit:
Marine
Corps
Combat
Development
Command)