Virgin Galactic unveils snazzy space suits for smart traveller of the future
The date for the world’s first commercial space flight is not even confirmed yet, but future passengers’ Star Trek-like outfits are ready and waiting.
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson on Wednesday introduced the custom suits that will be worn by the first private astronauts.
US sportswear designer Under Armour “worked day and night for about two years on this project” said Branson, who himself served as a model at the presentation at a skydiving simulator near New York.
The 69-year-old British billionaire donned the personalised royal blue suit that he plans to wear during his company’s inaugural flight sometime in 2020.
Every space tourist will get their own custom suit that they can take home with them back on Earth, complete with a label of their name and their country’s flag.
Virgin Galactic, which was founded in 2004, has spent years developing its space programme, and since a fatal accident in 2014, has twice crossed the barrier into the final frontier. But the company has still not yet piloted a space flight with clients on board.
The company plans to offer weightless flights to six passengers at a time, at $250,000 (R3.71m) a ticket. They will be able to float around the ship’s cabin and look out of portholes to see the curvature of the Earth, all while surrounded by the blackness of space.
The suits were unveiled in the wake of Nasa’s uniforms for its astronauts due to go to the moon in 2024.