Much of the revolutionary technology we enjoy today evolved from America’s space program. Over the years, the program has transferred a wide variety of space technologies to other applications, as diverse as noninvasive tests that detect cardiovascular disease, lithium batteries for electric vehicles, and space age swimsuits that significantly reduce skin friction drag.

You may be interested to know that 94% of gold medals in swimming at the 2008 Olympics were won in such swimsuits.

Yet, we tend to take technology for granted. Consider truck design.

It was in the 1970s when researchers at the Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, began conducting numerous tests to refine the shape of trucks to reduce aerodynamic drag and improve efficiency.

Already working on the effects of drag and wind resistance on different kinds of aircraft and the early space shuttle designs, the researcher transferred their considerable knowledge to the design of large trucks.

Aerospace Engineer Edwin J Saltzman and his team found that rounding a tractor’s edges, placing a smooth fairing on its roof, and extending the sides back to the trailer could cut drag by more than 50%, increase highway fuel economy by more than 20%, and help with vehicle handling.

Assuming a typical truck drives 100,000 miles annually, these modifications translated to fuel savings of more than 6,000 gallons per year per vehicle.

The research revolutionized truck design. The modifications the engineers tested have now been widely adopted around the world.

Now, this technology is being recognized by the Space Foundation - one of the world’s premier non-profit organizations supporting space activities, professionals, and education.

Next month, a more efficient truck cab design will be inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame during the 25th National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

I wondered why Saltzman decided to investigate truck design in the first place.

I discovered he was motivated while bicycling through the California desert. He noticed the push and pull of large trucks at highway speeds while riding to work.

As a tractor trailer overtook him, he first felt the bow wave of air pushing him slightly away from the road and toward the sagebrush. Then, as the truck swept past, its wake had the opposite effect, drawing him toward the road and even causing him and his bike to lean toward the lane.

This got him exploring the flow of air around a moving truck.

Learning Saltzman’s story brings to mind the quote: “Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.