Elon Musk has revealed a teaser photo showing the spacesuit to be worn aboard the Dragon spacecraft. The white minimalist design is futuristic and fashionable. The Tesla CEO announced promised his social media followers more details about the spacesuit will be revealed in the coming days.
Minimalist design
SpaceX founder Elon Musk took to Instagram to share a photo photo that revealed the design of the spacesuit passengers would use when they board the Dragon spacecraft. The photo did not unveil the whole outfit — only the torso portion and headgear are shown.
The design is a very simple white suit with gray accents. Some patches of gray can be seen on the sides of the body, near the top of the sleeves, and under the arms.
The gray patch on upper right sleeve carries the American flag. In addition, the rest of the suit comes with very minimalist design, appearing very clean and comfortable. Musk emphasized that the suit is not a mockup — it is actually functioning as a real spacesuit.
"First picture of Spacex Spacesuit. More in days to follow," Musk captioned the photo on Instagram. "Worth noting that this actually works (not a mockup). Already tested to double vacuum pressure. Was incredibly hard to balance esthetics [sic] and function. Easy to do either separately."
It seems that the design of the space suit passed the test with his followers.
The post has earned more than 255,000 likes just seven hours of being posted. Congratulatory comments and other positive responses continue to pour in on the Instagram post.
Is the suit for spacewalk use?
Meanwhile, the Boring Company boss did not specify the sole function of the suit. It remains to be seen if astronauts would wear it for spacewalks or just when aboard the Dragon Capsule.
The Verge notes the suit is a pressurized type, therefore it is not intended for spacewalks. It would just be worn while inside the spacecraft and for the commercial crew program when the company begins launching people to the International Space Station.
Elon Musk shunned away from the rival’s blue suit
SpaceX’s rival, Boeing, has previously revealed the spacesuit design they would use for its passengers on the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in the future.
Compared to its rival, the suit comes in blue color with more intricate design.
Chris Ferguson, Boeing director of Starliner Crew and Mission Systems, said he believes that their blue space suit fits their Boeing vehicle well. Being a former astronaut of NASA, he spoke with much confidence that their suit would provide their crew members the necessary comfort, protection, and functionality.
Which spacesuit appeals more to you? Do you think the SpaceX white suit is a better design? Let us know your comments below.
