If you’re going into space, you should do so in style. Under Armour has teamed up with commercial space firm Virgin Galactic to provide fashionable space suits for the people traveling into the cosmos. Under Armour is the first major consumer retailer to create a product intended for space travel.
In summer 2019, Virgin is scheduled to take civilians 50 miles above the surface of earth onboard SpaceShipTwo. A test flight was successfully completed in December.
Under Armour is outfitting the pilots and over 700 passengers who paid $250,000 each for the experience, reports The Washington Post.
“If you’re going to space, you ought to look good, feel good and have the experience of a lifetime,” Virgin founder Richard Branson told The Post. “We wanted a space suit that the 700 astronauts who signed up and hopefully the thousands more that will sign up in the future will have a unique design to the individual. We need a space suit that would make them comfortable going up to space, that would work while they are floating around and on the way back down.”
Astro-tourists will require clothes that are comfortable as they endure intense gravitational force. The clothing also needs to allow freedom of movement when travelers float around inside the cabin. In addition, their flight suits need to be fire retardant and warm because it can get quite cold in space.
According to Under Armour chief innovation officer Clay Dean, customers should also look good considering they are paying so much money for the trip. Don’t expect the loose-fitting orange or blue jumpers we’re used to seeing on NASA astronauts.
The one-piece Under Armour flight suit, shoes, and jacket will be suitable for both land and space. Pilots will be outfitted in separate uniforms. Designs of the “progressive-looking” suits will be released in a few weeks, promised Dean. The suits won’t look like street clothes but they won’t resemble flight suits you see on the movies either.
According to Branson, Virgin will launch another test flight in February. He plans on being a member of the team when the first commercial flight, planned for this summer, takes off.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, and Russian firm KosmoKurs are all offering unique space travel experiences in the near future.
KosmoKurs wants to send passengers 124 miles above Earth by 2020. They plan on charging space tourists between $200,000 and $250,000. Musk’s plan is to send cargo ships to Mars by 2022 and a colony of people to the planet by 2024.
Those with a bit more money may be interested in a plan by Russia’s space agency, the Roscosmos State Corporation. It’s investing in a new luxury hotel on the International Space Station. Those wishing to visit the satellite can expect to pay between $40 million and $60 million per trip, which can last for up to a month.
