After releasing a first glimpse last month, SpaceX founder Elon Musk has posted a full-length view of the company’s new flight suit. All white with black accents, the SpaceX flight suit finally bridges the divide between science fiction and reality.
The SpaceX flight suit has been a project close to the tech billionaire’s heart from the very beginning. Musk wanted to make the reality of space travel as cool as it was in his favourite science fiction movies and tv shows. It comes as no surprise then that the new flight suit, that Musk announced on his personal Instagram account, makes use of a form-fitting silhouette of the big clunky pressurised suits of the past.
It’s important to note that despite its sci-fi-chic appearance, the SpaceX flight suit is functional. The designs that Musk has shared on his Instagram account are not just mockups but working prototypes. In his first Instagram post unveiling the suit, Musk explained that the suits have “Already tested to double vacuum pressure.” He continued, “ [It] Was incredibly hard to balance esthetics and function.”
The SpaceX flight suit will be worn by NASA astronauts or even a private crew inside the company’s Dragon Capsule. The suits are, however, not intended for anything as complex as spacewalks. They are merely there to ensure that if the capsule suffers decompression, the crew will still be able to operate in the environment safely.
