In June, Microsoft and NASA announced a partnership to send the HoloLens to space. However, the unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying the initial units to the International Space Station disintegrated on launch. Now, Microsoft and NASA are ready to try again.
On Dec. 3, Orbital Sciences will launch another resupply rocket to the ISS, and two more augmented reality headsets from Microsoft will be on board. According to an interview with Jeff Norris at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in MIT Technology Review, the devices have already been cleared to fly.
The two HoloLens devices will let astronauts receive help from ground-based experts and show them diagrams to repair a broken machine. The project, named Sidekick and developed jointly by Microsoft and researchers at NASA, has two modes.
“Remote Expert Mode” uses a special version of Skype to allow operators to draw directly into the astronaut’s field of view. “Procedure Mode” doesn’t need a connection to the ground; astronauts can load up schematics and guides to help them complete complex experiments or even just clean up.
With the space station’s vast and organized storage spaces, finding where to put an object can be a hassle. With Sidekick, the HoloLens is able to recognize the object an astronaut is holding and directs them to where the object should be kept so other astronauts can find it later.
The two HoloLens units that are part of Sidekick will launch on Dec. 3 aboard an Orbital Sciences rocket.
