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Virgin Galactic passengers will wear these Under Armour spacesuits
Yesterday, NASA revealed the spacesuits its astronauts will wear on future Moon and Mars missions. They're impressive but clunky and a little heavy-handed on the patriotic theme. As you might expect, commercial space travel will be a bit more stylish. Today, Under Armour unveiled the space gear -- a base layer, spacesuit and boots -- that it's designed for passengers on Virgin Galactic flights.
NASA demos spacesuits for its Moon and Mars missions
Today, NASA revealed the two spacesuits that it will use for its Project Artemis. It shared a video of a spacesuit engineer wearing a bulky, red-white-and-blue suit that will be used for work on the Moon and another spacesuit engineer rocking a thinner, orange suit. The latter is what the crew will wear on their way to and from the Moon, and in the event that there's a sudden depressurization of their spacecraft, they'll be able to live inside the suit for days.
Under Armour will make the space suits for Virgin Galactic flights
When Virgin Galactic sends people to space, it plans to send them style. The privacy aerospace company announced today that Under Armour will be designing and producing the space suits and footwear that will be worn by passengers and pilots during future commercial trips to space. The apparel company will also create physical training programs for astronauts to undergo in preparation for the flights.
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Neil Armstrong's spacesuit is wasting away
Plastics are the worst. Some types are killing marine life because they don't break up fast enough, while others are making museum conservators' lives a lot harder because because they fall apart too easily. The Smithsonian's conservators are struggling to keep some of the museum's exhibits intact due to plastics, for instance, including a very important piece of space history: Neil Armstrong's spacesuit.
SpaceX animation shows the ideal outcome for the Falcon Heavy launch
SpaceX will attempt to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time tomorrow. It's no small feat and a lot could go wrong, but SpaceX has a released a video showing how the launch will work if everything goes according to plan.
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launch gets a spacesuit-clad 'Starman'
The debut launch of the Falcon Heavy will be a serious and complex affair, but SpaceX boss Elon Musk is trying to boost the fun level to maximum. Not only is he using a cherry red Tesla Roadster as ballast for the first test, he's placed a dummy wearing SpaceX's stylish new space suit in the driver's seat, according to a new Instagram post. "Starman in Red Roadster," Musk wrote, a reference to the fact that the EV will supposedly be blasting David Bowie's Space Oddity.
Spacesuit 'take me home' feature could save lost astronauts
The greatest fear for many astronauts is to get lost or disoriented during a spacewalk, especially if it's untethered. How do you get back to safety with no sense of direction, little to no help and a limited supply of oxygen? Researchers at Draper might offer a lifeline. They recently applied for a patent on a self-return feature in spacesuits that would automatically navigate back to the astronaut's home ship. A spacefarer in a panic could just slap a button and know they would get back to the airlock.
Here's a full-length look at SpaceX's spacesuit
Elon Musk dropped a carefully cropped look at the SpaceX suit for astronauts on his Instagram a couple of weeks ago, and came back with a more revealing picture today. Modeled in front of the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft, it gives a better idea of what we might be able to expect. It's far sleeker than what we've seen in use from NASA until now, and as Musk noted previously, it apparently actually works.
Elon Musk shows off SpaceX's custom spacesuit
Ladies and gentleman, meet the SpaceX spacesuit. Elon Musk just came through with the first pic of the astronaut gear via his Instagram. And, even though it's not a full look at the suit, it offers plenty to pick apart. Like, why is the American flag on the arm the wrong way round? (Although, that could be due to the image being flipped.) Speculation aside, let's start with what we know so far. Musk claims this is not a mockup, meaning it's a real-life, working spacesuit. That's cool, because (by the looks of things) it's all about mobility.
NASA is running out of functional spacewalk suits
NASA already spent over $200 million on developing a next-gen spacesuit, but it's still years away from conjuring up a working unit. That's a bigger problem than you might think, because according to NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG), the agency is quickly running out of (PDF) functional suits needed for spacewalks. The iconic white suits you see the ISS crew wearing today are the same units made for astronauts 40 years ago. They were designed to last for only 15 years, and while most of them still work, they're already riddled with issues that make them risky to use.
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Boeing's spacesuit is light, cool and flexible
Virgin isn't the only company determined to make conventional spacesuits seem like ungainly beasts. Boeing has unveiled the spacesuit it wants to use for people aboard its Starliner CST-100 vessels, and they promise to be far more livable than the clunky spacewear you've seen before. It's roughly 40 percent lighter than previous suits, with layers that should keep astronauts cooler than usual. Wearers also won't feel quite so trapped or claustrophobic -- zippers help them transition from sitting to standing, and there's a wide plastic visor that should improve peripheral vision.
SpaceX had a superhero costume designer make a spacesuit
SpaceX is fond of making technology that looks good, and apparently that extends as far as astronaut gear. Thanks to both a Tested video (at the 12:09 mark) and a recently highlighted Bleep interview, we now know that well-known costume designer Jose Fernandez has crafted a spacesuit for SpaceX. Yes, the same man who clothed superheroes in Batman vs. Superman and Captain America: Civil War is also contributing to the growth of modern spaceflight. You won't get to see the suit until sometime in the next year, but the Bleep chat reveals that SpaceX's Elon Musk wanted the design to be "stylish" and "heroic." This probably won't look much like NASA's utilitarian Z-2, then.
Virgin Galactic taps fashion brand Y-3 for space suit designs
If you set out to do something incredible, you should do it looking your best. For Virgin Galactic, the commercial spaceflight venture from Richard Branson, that means teaming up with fashion brand Y-3 to create apparel for its future pilots, astronauts and on-the-ground team operations members. In case you're not familiar, Y-3 is a collaboration between Adidas and Yohji Yamamoto, a decorated and well-respected Japanese designer.
NASA tests Orion spacesuit in low-gravity environment
Since NASA modified its old "pumpkin suit" for future missions aboard the Orion spacecraft, it has to undergo testing to ensure that it's tougher and more mobile than its predecessor. These days, NASA has been testing it aboard a C9 aircraft, which can fly in parabolas to simulate weightlessness. The agency even built a mock-up Orion cabin inside in order to see if astronauts will be capable of performing various tasks while wearing the suit. Since the Orion capsule is meant for deep space missions, the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit is being developed to be able to sustain crew members in case of emergency and to protect them during spacewalks. Unfortunately, it'll take almost a decade before we see it used for an actual trip to space, as Orion's first manned mission won't happen until 2023.
Smithsonian crowdfunds preservation of Neil Armstrong's spacesuit
If you've ever wanted to lend a hand preserving a piece of US history, now's your chance. The Smithsonian launched a Kickstarter campaign to gain support for restoring Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 spacesuit for display at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. While the artifact hasn't been on display since 2006, funds raised through the effort would allow it to be properly preserved ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo mission in 2019 and for an upcoming "Destination Moon" gallery that's scheduled to open in 2020. The campaign is seeking $500,000 to cover the cost of the conservation project and a climate-controlled case for the suit. During the course of the preservation, the suit will get faded colors in the American flag patch stabilized to prevent further deterioration, stains removed and a careful cleaning to keep lunar dust in place. Funds will also be used to construct a digital version via 3D scan so that classrooms around the world can examine it in detail for the first time.
The early design history of NASA's spacesuits
In Japan, Space Expo 2014 has begun. It's a collaboration between the country's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, offering a chance for the public to see over 500 pieces of space exploration-themed realia. This includes shuttle replicas, for-real space food samples and a whole lot of rockets -- which is one of JAXA's specialties. In the middle of the exhibition, which lasts through September 2014, the Space Expo tells the story of the not-so-humble spacesuit.
This is NASA's new Z-2 spacesuit
The follow-up to NASA's rather Toy Story-esque Z-1 spacesuit was decided this week, thanks to an online poll. Three options were up for the task of being the next cover layer to protect the Z-2, and after garnering 63 percent of the vote, the "Technology" option will be part of the agency's new threads. An unadvertised underlying theme continues as renders of this suit certainly have a bit of a Tron aesthetic. Now, NASA engineers will move on to vacuum chamber, Neutral Buoyancy Lab, and rocky Martian surface tests which are all expected to commence this fall. There are plenty of features that make this an improvement over previous models, so let's take a closer look at the details.
Authentic spacesuits, rockets and more up for auction in NYC
Imagine what your friends will say when they notice your brand new space rocket just chillin' in the corner of your living room. Bonhams in NYC has plenty of items to make your neighbors jealous at its Space History Sale, a collection of 296 items from US and Soviet missions past. The big event celebrates Project Gemini, NASA's first unmanned test flight, which took place on April 8, 1964 (what better way to party than to sell some stuff?).
