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Under Armour to Make Spacesuits for Virgin Galactic Astronauts

By the end of this year, there’s good chance humanity will step into the era of space tourism for good. Two companies are fighting to claim the title of first to sell tickets for trips to space, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, and both have their inaugural launches planned for 2019.
A glimpse at the Virgin Galactic spacesuits 4 photos
Photo: Virgin Galactic
Earth seen from VSS UnityEarth seen from VSS UnityEarth seen from VSS Unity
Blue Origin revealed its plans to send tourists into orbit by the end of the year during the launch of the tenth mission for the New Shepard capsule, while Virgin Galactic has been saying it will ever since its spacecraft, VSS Unity, reached the edge of space for the first time in mid-December.

The first tourist to go up in the Unity will be the company’s own leader, Richard Branson, and he’ll be wearing a spacesuit manufactured by American apparel behemoth Under Armour.

In a statement released on Thursday, Virgin Galactic said Under Armour has been tasked with creating the space wear needed for the company’s passengers and pilots. No details were provided on the materials and design of the spacesuits, but Virgin did say all will be revealed “ahead of Richard Branson’s inaugural commercial flight.”

The apparel manufacturer will also be tasked with designing uniforms of sorts for the Virgin Galactic employees, from engineers to hosts, working at Spaceport America in New Mexico. That decision is it odd, given Branson’s track record of unconventional leader.

Back in 2017, the man wrote on his blog, speaking about the work environment within the Virgin Group that “everyone is encouraged to wear what they think will help them to work most productively.”

Back to Under Armour, the company will not be in charge solely with designing and producing clothes for Virgin Galactic. Branson has also tasked his new partner with the creation of physical preparation programs for the astronauts.

No details about this program were announced at this time.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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