At the back of the establishment of the Australian Space Program, Boeing Australia has unveiled its Starliner virtual reality simulation, the first of its kind by a Boeing team outside of the United States, to develop the next generation of training programs as part of the company’s commitment to human spaceflight programs.
Boeing Australia has signed an agreement with Melbourne based VR studio, Opaque Space, on the Starliner CST-100 program, which will supplement the physical training of astronauts in virtual and mixed reality applications. The agreement is set to build on the existing collaborations and commercial activities of both companies with space agencies around the world.
“This agreement on the eve of the announcement of the Australian Space Program represents a multi-year effort by both Opaque Space and Boeing Australia to further our place as a nation to contribute to the global human spaceflight mission. It is both humbling and exciting to be a part of this effort by Boeing to benefit NASA and other space agencies around the world.” said Opaque Space CEO Emre Deniz.
Opaque Space has had a two year collaboration with the NASA Johnson Space Center as well as other facilities, and has been actively working on both the International Space Station and moon based experiences with its Earthlight VR game franchise.
Just this month, Earthlight was played by astronaut Dominic “Tony” Antonelli and Minister Tim Watts whilst also being demoed to tens of thousands of attendees at the Tokyo Game Show.