SpaceX Spacesuit, Dragon Crew News: New, Sleek Suit Design Revealed in Full by Founder Elon Musk
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has revealed the SpaceX spacesuit, from head to toe, in a post to social media just like he promised since Aug. 23. The new suit looks much slimmer and sleek compared to spacesuits in use today.
Musk has first shown a close-up look of the spacesuit, complete with a model wearing it, through an Instagram post last Aug. 23. He promised more pictures coming later, as he emphasized that these are photos of actual prototypes, and not just mockups of spacesuits.
"First picture of SpaceX spacesuit. More in days to follow," he promised more than three weeks ago in the caption. "Worth noting that this actually works (not a mockup). Already tested to double vacuum pressure," Musk added.
He also noted how difficult it was for the design team to balance a sense of design with the myriad of functions that the suit needs to do in the harsh conditions of space.
With his new post, space enthusiasts now have more of an idea of how the new suit, and a typical crew, compared to the Dragon Crew spacecraft module. The new update from Musk shows the whole suit, with a somewhat more opaque visor, right next to and a bit up front from the crew module of the commercial spacecraft.
The suit has been praised by commenters for its sleek yet utilitarian design, as some pointed out how the overall look reminds viewers of some of the suits in shows like "Star Trek." These suits are intended not just for highly-trained astronauts, but also for private clients that want to visit space through the SpaceX commercial flight offers.
The video below shows the interior features of the Dragon Crew spacecraft, designed to be used along with the recently revealed SpaceX spacesuits by NASA and commercial spaceflight crews.
