NASA's Newest Spacesuits Are a Retro Sci-Fi Throwback
If you're a fan of outer space, old school sci-fi, or the color blue, you'll wanna sit down for this: NASA's just revealed its newest astronaut spacesuits, and they're a slick mix of retro styling with modern enhancements.
Created by Boeing for its upcoming CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, the new "Boeing Blue" Starliner spacesuits have a serious 2001: A Space Odyssey vibe, and feature boots that'd be at home on any streetwear look book, but it's not all for show -- they're also 40% lighter, offering the flight crew increased mobility and comfort. The wider visor provides better peripheral vision as well, which is important when you're in as hostile an environment as outer space.
As you'd expect, there are also a number of technological innovations on these new suits, including a more sophisticated communications headset inside the bubble-shaped helmet, but the main update has to be the addition of touchscreen-sensitive gloves, which seems like it should've already been a thing.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner is currently scheduled to begin ferrying its well-dressed astronauts to and from the International Space Station in early 2018.