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Photo: Jeremy Hsu/Space.com
The problem with space travel, fashion-wise, is that spacesuits are bulky and – let’s face it – not very chic. Thankfully, private spacesuit designers Nikolay Moiseev and Ted Southern solved this problem:
A spacesuit model arched his back experimentally, flashed the thumbs up and struck other poses that drew chuckles from the crowd gathered inside the Eyebeam Art and Technology Center. He showed off a bright yellow pressure suit topped by the dome of a roomy space helmet, with a blue glove on the right hand and a black glove on the left hand.
The blue glove was designed by Moscow-based spacesuit engineer Nikolay Moiseev, who built in unprecedented flexibility at the metacarpal knuckles of the hand. The black glove represented a single-layer design made from urethane by Brooklyn-based inventor and artist Ted Southern, which reduced the torque required to move the fingers to practically nothing.
"In the future, our plan is to actually blend the two and make a low-torque, single-layer, metacarpal glove," Southern said to the assembled crowd. "And it’s going to happen."
Above, left to right:Mark IV, B.F. Goodrich; Mark II – Model “O”, B.F. Goodrich, 1956; Mark V – Modified, B.F. Goodrich, 1968; Mark II – Model “R”, B.F. Goodrich, 1956
These spacesuits look very retro today but were cutting edge back in the day. The astronauts who wore them were national heroes who inspired dreams of space travel in a generation of Americans. It’s not surprising that these spacesuits are among the Smithsonian’s most popular artifacts.
The spacesuits worn by the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronauts are among the most asked for, and asked about artifacts in the Smithsonian national collection. It is true that explorers of remote, inaccessible, and environmentally inhospitable regions of Earth (notably of the Arctic and Antarctic regions), and test pilots since the 1930s, have required specially designed clothing of various sorts. It is a testament to the extraordinary cultural significance of spaceflight, however, that spacesuits attract far more attention than the parkas, snow shoes, flight jackets, and even pressure-suits and “crash helmets” of Earth-and-air-bound explorers.
Space tourism is still horribly expensive (a flight to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft goes for about $20 million). But if you want, you can now step into the boots of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin by donning the replica of the iconic Apollo 11 spacesuits. It’ll set you back $9.5K (Tang not included): Link
