Boeing debuts touchscreen-friendly suits for space station flights

Boeing has unveiled a new line of spacesuits for future astronauts under its endeavours, with a few unique touches.

The suits, coloured in Boeing’s signature blue tone, have been designed specifically to be worn aboard their Starliner spacecraft, built to ferry astronauts between the Earth and International Space Station.

Weighing approximately 9 kilograms, 40 percent less than NASA’s current space suits, Boeing’s design isn’t meant for protection against micro particle impacts and drastic temperature changes during spacewalks. Instead, it’s only a preemptive measure in case of a fire or hull breach during the Starliner’s launch, ascent, and re-entry.

With strategically placed zippers, a soft helmet, and wide visor, the Boeing suit keeps the wearer cooler than NASA’s standard fare, and also features special touchscreen-friendly gloves compatible with the Starliner’s built-in tablets. “It’s more aesthetically appealing and it's not as bulky,” Boeing Starliner director Chris Ferguson told media. Even the boots are lightweight and foldable, thanks to a design collaboration with Reebok, Ferguson added.



The suits have been designed with simple Earth-to-ISS transit in mind, a journey that could take anywhere between six hours on optimal launch day, to 24 hours. Consequently, Boeing’s design is fitted together as a largely singular piece, meaning astronauts will unfortunately have to wear adult diapers as bathroom breaks will be non-existent.

Boeing built the CST-100 Starliner under NASA’s Commercial Crew program, an initiative to launch NASA’s astronauts into space aboard capsules manufactured by private companies. The first expected Starliner launch is expected to take place in August 2018, which means it’ll be more than a year before astronauts actually strap into the new space suits.