SpaceX, an American aerospace company, has enlisted the help of a legendary Hollywood costume designer to assist in designing a fully functional, aesthetically pleasing spacesuit. Jose Fernandez is the genius behind costumes from some of Hollywood's biggest films, including The Avengers, Iron Man and Batman v Superman, but never before have his costumes been worn by astronauts who are going to be counting on them for survival in the depths of space. Fernandez has no experience in the space industry, but I assume when he found out that SpaceX is worth somewhere in the ballpark of $12 billion he was open to hearing their proposal.
SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk reportedly approached Fernandez about the project, which the designer assumed was for a film, before stating that he wanted the design to look "badass" and that "It needs to both look like a 21st century spacesuit and work well"; a statement that kind of leaves an unsettling question-mark over which one is the priority. Fernandez revealed that when Musk approached him with the venture he was also filled in on some serious time constraints: "We had two weeks to present the suit to him and I told them I couldn't do a full suit in two weeks but that I may be able to do a helmet. There were four other companies working on bids as well and at the end of the process he hated everything except the helmet." Fernandez went on to explain that after Musk gave his helmet design the green light they worked together for six months on the rest of the suit, which SpaceX are now reverse-engineering to become functional for flight and space travel.
Reports are that the snazzy suits are nearing completion and should be unveiled within the next year, hopefully incorporating both space-chic as well as a functional breathing apparatus.
H/T: Gizmodo
