NASA Taps Screen Innovations for Light-Rejecting Screen Aboard Space Station

Screen Innovations (SI) said NASA chose the company to develop a portable 65-inch projection screen for use on the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS ViewScreen was among the cargo on the Dragon supply ship that launched from Cape Canaveral last week bound for the ISS. The zero-gravity screen will replace 13-inch displays crew members have been using to communicate with NASA Mission Control, the company said. Crew members also will use the screen for video chats with their families and to conduct training and simulated operations previously done on laptops, it said. It took nearly eight months for the SI engineering team to overcome the space and bright lighting challenges of the interior of the ISS, SI said. A permanent installation wasn't an option, so the company had to develop a screen that could be easily stored when not in use, which SI Technology Specialist Tom Nugent called a “difficult predicament in zero gravity.” When collapsed for storage the screen couldn’t be larger than a standard mailing tube, the company said. The storage tube measures roughly 3 feet long by 2 1/2 feet in diameter, it said. SI’s Slate screen material was chosen for its ability to reject ambient light, SI said. The company didn't know the brand of the laser projector paired with the screen.