Yonkers (USA) (AFP)
The date of the first commercial flight is not yet set but the outfits, very trendy Star Trek, are ready: Virgin Galactic and its founder Richard Branson presented on Wednesday in New York the combinations that will carry the first private astronauts, which will be realized tailored for their customers.
The designers of the US Under Armor sports equipment maker, retained by Virgin Atlantic, "worked day and night for two years on this project," said Branson, who served as a model for this highly marketing presentation, organized in a free fall simulator at Yonkers, near New York.
The 69-year-old British billionaire wore the navy blue suit in his name that he plans to wear for the inaugural flight expected on an unspecified date in 2020.
"Spatial combinations are part of the iconography of the early days of space conquest, and our view of human spaceflight and what astronauts wear is inextricably linked (..) I like the look and feel of these combinations. I love even more the fact that the next time I put it, I'll be leaving for space, "said the one who launched Virgin Galactic in 2004.
Under Armor President Kevin Plank explained that his stylists had proceeded as for other extreme sports outfits, "observing to understand the sport, understanding the needs of the athlete, the extreme conditions he is experiencing ".
Combination fibers, underwear and boots were chosen to regulate body temperature and humidity. A transparent inner pocket has been added so that space-savvy adventurers can keep their loved ones' pictures "literally close to the heart". And the design was chosen to fit perfectly with that of the ship's seats.
Each space tourist will have on his suit, which he can keep as a souvenir, the flag of his country and his name.
"Touching this combination is like touching the spaceship for the first time, it's something tangible," said Trevor Beattie, a Briton who is one of about 600 pre-registered customers for the first flights.
"It's a new stage, we're approaching (the goal), but we're patient, we can wait."
After years of development, delayed by a fatal accident in 2014, Virgin Galactic created a spaceship and crossed the border twice, but never again with paying customers on board.
Virgin Galactic plans to offer a few minutes of weightlessness to six passengers at a time, with the purchase of a $ 250,000 bill for the first customers.
They will float in the cabin and will see the curvature of the Earth, under a black sky, by large portholes.
These combinations were unveiled in the wake of Nasa's presentation of prototypes of suits supposed to bring more fluidity to the "real" American astronauts, who must return to the Moon in 2024.
© 2019 AFP