Melbourne VR studio to aid Australian astronaut training

Melbourne VR studio Opaque Space will provide virtual reality training material for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner program.

At the International Astronautical Conference in Adelaide it was announced that Australia will finally have its own space program.  And Australian astronauts will receive cutting edge virtual reality training.  Opaque Space will develop the training scenarios and content for these training programs in a partnership with Boeing, the first program of its kind outside the United States.

“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 Emre Deniz (CEO, Opaque Space).

Opaque Space is not new to the space game, having developed the astronaut simulation game Earthlight where gamers can experience the International Space Station and the Moon.  Earthlight was featured at the recent Tokyo Game Show and promoted by astronaut Dominic “Tony” Antonelli alongside the MP Tim watts who represents the Melbourne western suburb seat of Gellibrand.  Earthlight was developed during a two-year collaboration with the NASA Johnson Space Center with input from the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab and Sonny Carter Training facility.

Opaque Space has made history as Australia’s first VR supplier to an astronaut training program, with VR technologies destined to shape our future space exploration efforts.  Goes to show that VR game development has potential that is literally out of this world.