Selfies in space: Boeing, Samsung team for cosmic mobility

Boeing looking to incorporate mobility into CTS-100 spacecraft

cts 100
Boeing is looking to enhance the mobile technology capability  of its forthcoming Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft by partnering with Samsung.

While exact details of how the agreement will impact the spacecraft  were sparse the companies said they will start identifying how mobile technology can be used to improve CST-100 crew and mission operations and announce more later this year.

+More on Network World: The IRS uses computers?! The horror!+

"Just as they've done on Earth, mobile tools and devices will enhance the way we operate in space day-to-day, making mission operations more efficient," said Chris Ferguson, director of crew and mission system for the Boeing Commercial Crew Program in a statement.   "Like any other person doing his or her work, an astronaut values connectivity and the ability to share experiences," added Ferguson, who piloted the final space shuttle mission for NASA in 2011.

Sounds like big space selfies to me.

Boeing's Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 can hold a crew of seven and will be bigger than the Apollo capsule but smaller than NASA's Orion, which is also still under development.  The CTS-100 should be able to launch on a variety of different rockets, including Atlas, Delta and Space X Falcon.

Boeing is in competition develop a commercial spacecraft with Sierra Nevada and SpaceX.   All three companies have received the lion's share of NASA financial support through its Commercial Crew program.

You might recall that Boeing and Samsung are working together to make Earth-bound aircraft more mobile friendly as well.  In that case the companies say they are working on advanced display and wireless networking technologies that offer more capabilities for passenger entertainment and ground-to-air communications, but are lighter and require less power.

Follow Michael Cooney on Twitter: nwwlayer8 and on Facebook

Check out these other hot stories:

Bell Labs offers $100,000 prize for game-changing information technology

NASA's broken planet-hunter spacecraft given second life

US Navy wants smart robots with morals, ethics

Federal car fleet to become test bed for high-tech safety gear

"Game of Thrones" author like DOS, hates spellcheck

Quick look: What's hot with 3D printers?

10 crucial issues around controlling orbital debris, directing space traffic

FBI: "Sky was the limit" for this now jailed scammer

7 Crazy computer glitches that made us groan

Copyright © 2014 IDG Communications, Inc.

The 10 most powerful companies in enterprise networking 2022