Too say that I'm disappointed in NASA/Boeing is like trying to keep a straight face and utter the phrase, "Politicians are tolerable". This is a PR stunt. Those devices will not do a thing expect add unnecessary weight to the flight profile. Seven astronauts times 57lbs is an extra 400lbs of equipment only utilized occasionally at a $10,795/lbs launch cost (ULA,
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-rocket-cost/); really? Why not incorporate that weight into the infrastructure as consumable shielding and leave the personnel unencumbered. Radiology lead aprons are only meant to protect against scatter radiation, not the direct beam (in the clinical setting). High energy particles will not be effected by such minuscule sheets of lead. Why not orientate the spacecraft towards the solar flares when the come up? By the way, all things SpaceX will employ on their human missions. Oh yes, PR. The tactic to show tax payers, "hey look at what we are doing to protect the astronauts...blah, blah, blah", is not unlike the Health department stating that if the algorithmic calculated dose after a computed tomography (CT) exam is below a certain amount, then the the CT is safe to have. That's crap. The average CT exam is 5000mAs; research and calculate the dose yourself and discover just what they are trying to pull over your eyes.
Michael Dennis AAS, RT (R)(CT)(MRI) ARRT
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