When SpaceX launched two astronauts into space for the first time on Saturday, they did so in two custom-designed suits that were designed by the same man who brought us many on-screen superhero costumes.
Jose Fernandez, of Ironhead Studios, created the sleek and futuristic suits worn by the astronauts seen below:
Tomorrow, @NASA astronauts @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug will fly from their home base at @NASA_Johnson to @NASAKennedy aboard an agency Gulfstream aircraft. ✈️🚀
Tune in to NASA TV at 4 p.m. ET on May 20 for the crew arrival news conference: https://t.co/w152mMNVra pic.twitter.com/bsxWTHFIHE
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) May 19, 2020
Fernandez used a lot of what we has learned in creating form-fitting, flexible suits and also points out that the suit’s Daft Punk-esque style, as Fernandez has helped design some of the music duo’s signature helmets.
He credits the CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, for the look of the suits, saying:
“He (Musk) kept saying, ‘Anyone looks better in a tux, no matter what size or shape they are,’ and when people put this space suit on, he wants them to look better than they did without it, like a tux. You look heroic in it.”
But the suits aren’t just for style, but also for functionality. Fernandez used his expertise in joinery to build suits with different materials that meet up perfectly and also keep the suit airtight. He was even able to address an issue that has given NASA trouble for years: the ability for astonauts to turn their head. The original, bolted-on helmets prohibited the wearers from doing so, limiting their line of sight.
He fixed this by drawing on his design of Ben Affleck’s Batsuit, which allowed Affleck to turn his head. The suits’ helmet uses an articulated neck piece, which allows the astronauts to have a both lighter suits and also better vision.
The two astronauts who made the journey this weekend, Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, praised the suits in the tweet below:
"Bob and I have had a ton of time in those suits. I bet you we've donned and doffed those suits a couple hundred times." @Astro_Doug discusses the custom-fit @SpaceX suits they wore as he and @AstroBehnken launched into space: pic.twitter.com/mtyDAWGFI4
— NASA (@NASA) June 1, 2020
Fernandez has worked on numerous superhero costumes and designs, such as Affleck’s Bat-mech suit. He has worked on films like Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin. His talent has also been given to Marvel films as well, sculpting the helmets for Captain America, Loki, Thor, Magneto, and Black Panther’s helmet from Captain America: Civil War. He helped with the costume for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in X-2: X-Men United.
You can check out Fernadez and Ironhead’s work in superhero design on Instagram.
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