Under Armour’s next frontier: space suits

“I have followed Under Armour’s progress through a personal friendship with its CEO, Kevin Plank and via the great relationships it has established over the years with various Virgin companies. I’ve loved its determination to push technical boundaries in order to improve performance, so could not have been more pleased when Kevin and his talented teams stepped up to the considerable task of creating a range of space apparel and performance programmes for Virgin Galactic,” Branson said in a statement.

Branson is joined by Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in a space race among moguls. With Virgin Galactic, Branson is aiming to provide space travel aboard a six-passenger “spaceplane.” The rocket itself is still in development, having recently completed the milestone of reaching the “edge of space” in December during a test flight. Reports indicate there’s already a waiting list, with 600 people looking to get aboard for $250,000 a seat. But they will all have to wait behind Branson, who wants to don the first UA-made suit on the first flight.

“Working with Sir Richard and Virgin Galactic is an opportunity of a lifetime, one that has the entire Under Armour team across the world excited. This is a great opportunity to test our innovation at the highest level and continue to push the limits of human performance,” Plank said in a statement.

Space travel often brings out advancements that have use on Earth, so it’ll be interesting to track any changes in UA apparel.