Reebok Is Making Space Boots for Astronauts — And They Are Reportedly Very Light – TheStreet.com

Adidas (ADDYY) subsidiary Reebok Int.'l is making space boots for astronauts.

On Tuesday, July 18, the shoemaker released the Reebok Floatride Space Boot SB-01, made with "floatride foam technology" that the company said makes the boot "extremely lightweight." Inpartnership with David Clark Co., Reebok said it designed the boot because astronauts have essentially been wearing the same bulbous shoesince the U.S. landed on the moon in 1969.

As of May, NASA employed 44 active astronauts and 36 "management astronauts." Not a huge market for Reebok to get into, but the astronauts are likely rejoicing since they've historically lugged around in heavy, snowboard-type contraptions.

"Weight is a huge factor in space travel with just a single pound having big financial implications," Matt Montross of Reebok Innovation said in a statement. "Traditional space boots were made of rigid leather with firm soles and were not integrated into the actual space suit. Reebok Floatride Foam introduced three revolutionary elements to the space boot; it decreased the overall weight significantly, it brought the added comfort in a space boot and support that you would expect in a running shoe and it delivered a new level of sleekness and style."

Reebok expects astronauts to wear the new boot - complete witha feather-light midsole, single-layer engineered mesh upper and weight-optimized full-coverage outsole - as they travel tothe International Space Station on Boeing Co.'s (BA) new vessel, the CST-100 Starliner, which is estimated to take off sometime in 2018.

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Reebok Is Making Space Boots for Astronauts -- And They Are Reportedly Very Light - TheStreet.com