Tech titan Elon Musk is a proud nerd. He says he grew up reading comic books, and their essence doubtlessly influenced the way he approaches product design. Case in point: SpaceX, the aerospace company that Musk founded and runs — responsible for the recent awe-inspiring drone ship rocket landing as well as tons of other watershed rocket-related moments — has turned to famed superhero costumer Jose Fernandez to help create the company’s first-ever spacesuits.
Engadget recently reported on the match made in nerd heaven, noting that Fernandez discussed (in scant detail) the upcoming spacesuits in an interview with BLEEP, as well as in a video on Tested. (That video is posted below, with Fernandez’s remarks regarding SpaceX beginning around 12:09. The video posted above comes from SpaceX, and showcases what the suits may look like.)
Fernandez engineered and built Batman’s suit in BvS.
If you haven’t heard of Fernandez before, you’ve definitely seen his work: he and his company, Ironhead Studio, are behind a multitude of iconic comic book-based film costumes including those worn by Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man, Ben Affleck and Val Kilmer’s Batmans, Wolverine, Thor, and many others. He also designed out-of-this-world gear for various music acts, including Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo’s Daft Punk helmets.
Speaking of helmets, Fernandez says that it was his helmet design that first caught Musk’s attention. Fernandez told BLEEP that SpaceX reached out to him for spacesuit designs, but he only had enough time to produce the helmet. Musk liked his design though, and from there the two spent six months creating a suit that SpaceX is now “reverse-engineering to make functional for flight.”
Fernandez told Tested that SpaceX will possibly reveal the design in the next year — possibly coinciding with Musk’s Mars presentation he’s giving at the International Aeronautical Congress in Mexico in September. Regardless of when the suit finally makes its debut, it’s safe to get our hopes up for something cool. Fernandez told BLEEP that the suit is “pretty badass” and even likened it to a tuxedo. Which means it may be time to drop that Iron Man persona we project onto Musk and replace it with something more like James Bond.
What do you think about Jose Fernandez designing the first-ever SpaceX spacesuits? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Images: SpaceX, Ironhead Studio
