For decades, astronauts have worn bright-orange flight suits as they strap in for liftoff. But a new suit design looks more like a sci-fi uniform you’d see on a TV show. The suit is royal blue and gold, and formfitting. It was designed by Under Armour for tourists to wear on trips to the edge of space. The first flights are set to launch later this year. Tickets are a whopping $250,000!
Passengers on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo will get to wear this new flight suit, complete with a base layer, gloves, and boots. The thin knit base layer fabric helps regulate temperature and increase mobility, while the exterior fabric of the suit is fire resistant. It puts comfort first so that passengers can focus on enjoying the trip, not what they’re wearing, says Nick Cienski. He’s an apparel designer for Under Armour who worked on the suit.
“When people think about going to space, they immediately go to space movies,” says Cienski. His flight suit design for Virgin Galactic was inspired by sci-fi classics like Tron, as well as his experience as a costume designer for The Avengers. “I wanted these suits to have a certain percentage of drama—a super hero quality,” he says.
Astronauts wear special flight suits as they strap in for liftoff. For decades, these suits have been a distinctive bright orange. But a new suit design is coming—and it looks more like a sci-fi uniform you'd see on a TV show.
The suit is royal blue and gold, and fits astronauts’ bodies closely. It was designed by the company Under Armour for tourists to wear on trips to the edge of space. The first flights are set to launch later this year. Tickets are a whopping $250,000!
Passengers on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo will get to wear this new flight suit. It comes complete with a base layer, gloves, and boots. The thin, flexible fabric of the base layer helps control the wearer’s temperature. The outer layer of the suit is fire-resistant in case something goes wrong. Nick Cienski is a designer for Under Armour who worked on the suit. His main concern was making it comfortable, he says. That way, passengers can focus on enjoying the trip.
"When people think about going to space, they immediately [think about] space movies," says Cienski. His flight suit design was inspired by classic sci-fi films like Tron. He also used his experience as a costume designer for The Avengers. "I wanted these suits to have a certain percentage of drama—a superhero quality," he says.