Virtual reality jetpack training for astronauts



Virtual reality has been hitting the spotlight a lot lately; Google announcing the halt in production of Glass, Microsoft unveiling the HoloLens and LG offering free virtual reality headsets with every purchase of a G3 smartphone. Well this one trumps them all as it’s out of this world, literally. This image shows how astronauts go through virtual reality jetpack training in the ISS in case they ever need to stop themselves drifting off into space. 


And in much the fashion of Google Carboard and LG’s virtual reality offering, a laptop (not a smartphone) is housed in a virtual reality headset and strapped to the astronaut’s face. But don’t let that fool you on its performance of the virtual reality simulator, it’s said to be far more substantial than the headsets we’re using down here on Earth.
Jetpack training is pretty expensive and you probably wouldn’t want to run the risk of training out in space in case something went wrong (how else are you going to practice low gravity jetpack training?). They are training to use jetpacks known as Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue, or “SAFER”, that astronauts use to go to locations far from the ISS.

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