Inside is foam that acts like a sponge, when they're rolled up and air is forced out they're compact. To inflate, you unfurl it, open the valve and the action of the foam expanding acts like inhaling air, and it self-inflates.

The Aero brand air mattresses are like a thick bed that you just put on the floor. They fold away really small and come with rechargeable pumps that will inflate them in 60 seconds.

We've been concentrating ... on the foam application, so we've put a lower priority on the engine cutoff sensor, but it has been on the list of things to do.

Thousands of man hours [were spent] in developing new techniques so that foam in part and other components of the flight vehicle do not come loose during supersonic flight in the atmosphere as the orbiter climbs to orbit,

Thousands of man hours [were spent] in developing new techniques so that foam in part and other components of the flight vehicle do not come loose during supersonic flight in the atmosphere as the orbiter climbs to orbit.

Production was what I always wanted to do, even when I was skating. I'm a bit of a sponge. When I was going around competing I was always asking, 'What does that light do?' If you want to be successful, you have to understand what people are doing around you.