adidas Launches Boost Shoe Technology to the Space Station

Shoe and apparel giant adidas is taking its Boost shoe technology off the ground—and into space—to help improve products for athletes around the world. adidas is partnering with the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) U.S. National Laboratory to explore the boundaries of product innovation, and the company’s Boost in Space investigation is set to launch on SpaceX’s 20th commercial resupply services (CRS) mission.

This marks adidas’ second ISS National Lab-sponsored investigation. In their first project, which launched on SpaceX CRS-18 last July, adidas examined the behavior of free-flying soccer balls in microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. to better study aerodynamic performance.

For their second investigation, adidas is focusing on materials used in the production of the company’s Boost shoe soles, which contain polymer particles fused together. adidas will leverage the ISS National Lab to study the mixing and packing behavior of foam particles in an environment free from the effects of gravity.

The project, which received hardware facility support from ISS National Lab Implementation Partner(Abbreviation: IP) Commercial companies that work with the ISS National Lab to provide services related to payload development, including the translation of ground-based science to a space-based platform. Nanoracks, will use high-speed cameras to observe the flow of foam particles of different sizes. Through this experiment, adidas hopes to gain a better understanding of shoe midsole performance and improve the manufacturing process of Boost shoe soles back on Earth.

To learn about all of the ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations included on this mission, see our SpaceX CRS-20 launch page.