Specifically suited

The Vast Astronaut Flight Suit was developed with the company’s clients in mind, from its fit to its features.

Worn as either a one- or two-piece garment by zipping (or unzipping) the jacket from the pants, the flight suit will be tailored to each crew member while also offering increased comfort and mobility through back vents and shoulder gussets. The suit also has pockets and hook-and-loop fasteners (Velcro) so tools can be easily stowed and retrieved.

“In microgravity, you need your hands free and your tools always within reach,” said former NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, who is also advising Vast. “You’re constantly moving through small spaces and positioning your body in ways we don’t experience on Earth.”

Despite its clean white color and uniform design, the suit also provides for points of personal customization. Each crew’s suits will sport their own mission patch, and it has a place for each crew member’s flight badge, “wings” that they will individually earn from Vast “by launching, living on orbit and performing mission operations in space,” according to the company.

Separate from the flight suit but along the same lines, each Vast crew member will also wear the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive, a timepiece designed by the Swiss luxury watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen and tested in partnership with Vast. IWC engineered the watch to meet the challenges presented during human spaceflight, including replacing the crown with a more glove-friendly rotating bezel. Vast ensured the watch could withstand vibrations and pressure changes and be compatible with the Haven-1 on-board environment.

(IWC Schaffhausen is offering the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive to anyone for $28,200.)

“It’s something astronauts can actually use,” said Feustel. “This is the flight suit for the commercial, crewed spaceflight era, and it’s really just the beginning.”