Astronauts will soon be seen in new, bright blue spacesuits as Boeing showcased the new suits that astronauts for Beoing Starliner will wear. With the weight being 40 percent lower, the new suits are less bulky and have several upgrades as compared to suits previously worn by astronauts, NASA said.
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner is a capsule built by Boeing for NASA’s Commercial Crew program that is designed to take people to and from the International Space Station situated in Earth’s lower orbit.
The sleek new suits that the Boeing astronauts will now sport has touch-screen friendly gloves, softer helmets that afford a better peripheral vision from within and also zippers placed at strategic locations. The suit is designed to give better mobility and ease of movement and weighs just under 10 kgs (20 pounds).
The suits will also help astronauts stay cooler. Take a look:
However the pressurized suits are only meant to be worn inside the Starliner as it travels to and from the Space Station and cannot be worn by astronauts during spacewalks. NASA astronauts wear much bulkier suits for spacewalking.
The slimness of the suit actually intended for indoor wear and makes it susceptible to impacts from micro-meteoroid debris in space and the lack of layers makes astronauts exposed to atmospheric and thermal changes in space.
The new suits are meant more as a safety valve for astronauts on board in case of a breach in atmospheric conditions within the craft or an accident. In case of sudden pressure loss within the spacecraft, the suits will protect the astronauts till safer conditions are reached.
The suits are yet to see the light of day however since the Boeing Starline has pushed back the date foe its inaugurla flight to 2018 as it since has several criteria to meet including funding, Verge reports.
Feature Image Source: Twitter
