1. A Short History of NASA Tech Briefs
ABP International
November 2001
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2. October 4, 1957
Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite, starting the “space race.”
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3. October 1, 1958
To meet the challenge, U.S. Congress authorized creation of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration. Air Force & Army labs formed the R&D arm of the fledgling agency.
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4. The Birth of “Technology Transfer”
In writing NASA’s charter, Congress mandated that the agency share with U.S. industry/public any commercially promising new technologies resulting from its taxpayer-funded R&D.
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5. First a white paper, then another…
By 1962, NASA had established a technology transfer division that started mailing tech bulletins or “briefs” to engineers and managers throughout U.S. industry and government. A grass roots following developed for what would become…
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6. NASA Tech Briefs Magazine
In the spring of 1976, NASA began compiling new technology reports into a quarterly publication produced by the Government Printing Office.
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7. On the Horns of a Dilemma
By the early 1980s, NASA Tech Briefs had reached a circulation ceiling of 75,000, and NASA was restricted by the Office of Management and Budget from printing additional copies.
The agency soon had a waiting list of 12,000+ engineers looking to subscribe.
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8. The Solution: Privatize!
Rather than cutting off its main link to U.S. industry, NASA made the precedent-shattering decision in 1984 to commercialize NTB. NASA selected ABPI to privatize the magazine and expand its reach.
In return, ABPI was granted exclusive first publishing rights to NASA’s best new technologies with “down to Earth” commercial applications.
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9. 1984: GPO Publication Circulation ceiling of 75K + 12K waiting list
Readership concentrated in Aero/Defense
Quarterly (actually, 2X)
2C, graphically challenged
taxpayer-supported
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10. 2001: ABPI Publication
Qualified circulation of 195,000+, no waiting list
OEM readership (450,000) across many industries
Monthly (since 1989), 4C graphics
200+ pages of “value-added” editorial
Demographic editions, custom publishing
Electronic (PDF) version, Web products
Over $2 million taxpayer savings annually
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11. NASA Tech Briefs Product Family
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12. Traffic on the NASA Tech Briefs Web Site Continues to Skyrocket!
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13. NASA Tech Briefs Subscribers by Principal Job Function
Total monthly readership, including documented pass-along, exceeds 450,000.
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Sources: June 2001 BPA Audit Statement, Readership Plus Subscriber Surveys

14. NASA Tech Briefs Subscribers by Industry
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Source: June 2001 BPA Audit Statement

15. NASA Tech Briefs Subscribers by Engineering Responsibility
61.3% manage an engineering department, project team, or project
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Source: June 2001 BPA Audit Statement

16. NASA Tech Briefs Subscribers by Purchasing Authority
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Source: June 2001 BPA Audit Statement

17. Qualified Circulation Comparison – Design Engineering Publications
NASA Tech Briefs has the largest qualified circulation of any design engineering magazine.
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Comparison of June 2001 BPA circulation audit statements

18. Subscriber Comments
“Out of 24 magazines I receive, NASA Tech Briefs is the only one that I always read personally.” - Phares Noel, Senior Technology Manager, DiamlerChrysler
“NASA Tech Briefs has more new ideas and product information than all other design magazines I receive put together.” - M. Baig, Senior Applications Engineer - IBM Automation
“I used information from your articles to recommend advanced sensors for our vehicles.” - C. Orloff, Researcher - John Deere Product Engineering
“From reading NASA Tech Briefs, I was able to develop a novel system for environmental cleanup…now used worldwide.” - Dr. Joseph Resnick, Chief Scientist, Petrol Rem
“NASA Tech Briefs filled a critical need in solving a vehicle design problem.” - J. Fritsche, Director - Walt Disney Imagineering
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These are five of over 13,000 (and counting) reader comments in the NASA Tech Briefs feedback database.