Chun (@satofishi) “Not only should mandatory seat belt use on commercial flights end, but so should” — TopicDigg

Not only should mandatory seat belt use on commercial flights end, but so should the use of IVA spacesuits. In their 60+ years of history in service, zero lives have been saved by these suits and in real contingencies they failed to save lives at all. Yet astronauts still spend huge amounts of time just to learn how to don and doff them. Today these suits exist more as a symbol. Wearing them is more for show or status. Once a large enough crewed spacecraft enters service, we could build in a separate, independently pressurized compartment to serve as a refuge in the event of fire or depressurization. This would free up a huge amount of time for astronauts, allowing them to focus much more on their real work.