CORRECTED Italy's Spacewear says it is in talks to develop training clothing for Virgin Galactic
Corrects story from Oct 7 to remove reference to the deal being closed in the headline and the first paragraph. The founder of Spacewear corrected an earlier statement given to Reuters.
By Marta Di Donfrancesco
ROME, Oct 7 (Reuters) -Italy's Spacewear is discussing a deal with Virgin Galactic SPCE.N to design and develop a clothing range for the training of its astronauts and space tourists, the founder of the startup said.
"With Virgin Galactic we will make innovative, performing suits to be worn during training by those who will fly with Virgin Galactic," Spacewear's Corinna Sperandini told Reuters, adding however that "discussions are in an exploratory phase".
Founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic offers wealthy customers the experience of supersonic rocket speed, microgravity and the spectacle of the Earth's curvature from space.
An agreement could also include the production of made in Italy co-branded everyday clothing, inspired by spacesuits, for spring-summer 2025.
"Maybe in the future we will dress in 'Spacesure', with t-shirts and trousers originally designed for those who go into space...with interesting materials and an attractive design,"
Sperandini said, comparing it to the athleisure trend in which gym clothes are adapted and styled to be worn every day.
Spacewear produced the first Italian interactive and wearable spacesuits approved by NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be used in the International Space Station (ISS).
They were used in the first Italian suborbital mission in June 2023 and the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station Axion Mission-3.
The production cost of these spacesuits was around 250,000 euros ($274,150), to which "an intangible (value) for experience and competence", must be added, Sperandini said, explaining the elaborate and complex design process.
Italian fashion group Prada 1913.F and Texas-based startup Axiom Space said in October that they would collaborate to design NASA's lunar spacesuits for the Artemis III mission planned for 2025.
($1 = 0.9119 euros)
Reporting by Marta Di Donfrancesco, editing by Giulia Segreti, Kirsten Donovan
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