AT HOME...Cordless Power Tools and Appliances

Do you use a cordless drill or shrub trimmer? How about a Dustbuster®? Did you know that the technology that made these products possible came from NASA's Apollo program?

Astronauts needed a way to drill down beneath the moon's surface, as much as 10 feet, to collect core samples. Like everything else that went to the moon, this drill had to be small, lightweight and battery-powered. To develop the drill, NASA chose a company that has since become well known for its cordless products: Black and Decker.

A key technological advance made the battery-powered drill possible -- a computer program was used to design the drill's motor to use as little power as possible. That computer program, along with the knowledge and experience gained in developing the drill, provided a strong technology base for developing battery powered tools and appliances.

Black and Decker now sells approximately 400 million dollars worth of cordless, rechargeable products per year.