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Virgin Galactic unveils astronaut spacesuits

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Virgin Galactic unveiled Under Armour-designed spacesuits on Wednesday that the company said it aimed for space tourists to wear in 2020.

The outfits, which include boots, an under layer, outerwear and a jacket were showcased at an indoor skydiving facility north of New York City with models dancing, flying and diving to Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”.

“We were completely knocked out by it,” said Virgin Galactic founder and British billionaire Richard Branson.

“It’s taken Under Armour and their wonderful design team two years to make it and the beautiful boots and the whole outfit. And I knew that they would do a good job because they’ve got the best designers in the world. But when I walked in last night to see it, I thought, I want one of those and I’m looking forward to going to space in one. And, you know, having worn it now for a day, incredibly comfortable. And, you know, even for an old face like this, it makes one look good. And it’s going to be a lot of fun floating around in space with it.”

CEO of Under Armour Kevin Plank said that it was important that the clothing was cooling on the skin and that the fabric was pliable and not stiff, for “comfort mobility.”

“When you put it on, you feel like you’re gearing up,” said Plank. “And it was great to hear the reaction from, you know, one of the future astronauts tonight is that, you know, he’s been waiting for 10 or 12 years with Richard of being bought into this program. And today was the first time that it really sort of articulated or manifested into almost, felt like touching the suit, felt like touching space. And I thought that was a beautiful way to sort of put what we’ve been able accomplish from our team.”

Branson will take Virgin Galactic public by year-end, giving it the much-needed funds to take on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin in the race to space. Branson founded space ventures like Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit to cash in on burgeoning demand for space travel and launch services for a boom in the number of smaller satellites. But since its early days, Branson’s ambitious timeline for taking customers into space has suffered delays and setbacks.

In February, the company took a step closer to its goal of suborbital flights for space tourists when its rocket plane soared to the edge of space with a test passenger for the first time.

Hundreds of people from 60 countries, including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and pop star Justin Bieber, have paid or put down deposits to fly on one of Virgin’s suborbital flights. Some of Virgin Galactic’s ticket holders have been waiting over 14 years for their trip.

When asked why people love space so much, Branson said: “I think it would be extraordinary if somebody didn’t love space. We are the tiniest little dot here on Earth, a beautiful dot, but tiny. And space is infinite. I mean, it’s just extraordinary. And I think we should be shooting for the stars. I think we should be, you know, they just found another earth up there, which looks even more blue than our earth. I mean, you know, it’s through technology like Virgin Galactic and what Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are doing that these things can, you know, that we can be in touch with the wonders of what’s going on. And we can also, when we go to space, look back at this beautiful earth and come back determined to make sure it stays a beautiful earth.”

A 90-minute flight, which allows passengers to experience a few minutes of weightlessness, costs about $250 000.

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