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Kathianne
10-18-2024, 09:33 PM
Ok, while the author picks on NASA for the most part, I think the shallowness of government in general, not too mention entitlement of spending any amount on whatever, is throughout the system of military, NASA, and police forces of the executive branch in general. Not all of it is on uniforms of course, but the waste in supplies, travel, etc.

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/10/18/the-astronaut-wears-prada-n3795981


The Astronaut Wears Prada


David Strom (https://hotair.com/author/david-strom) 8:00 PM | October 18, 2024

https://media.townhall.com/cdn/hodl/2018/301/841aa75b-4435-43e6-aee9-214c904e7147-1052x615.jpgAP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

There is an America that works and an America that is obsessed with appearances.


No place is the contrast more clear than comparing SpaceX and NASA.

As Elon Musk launches and lands rockets, designs and launches the biggest rocket in the world and then literally catches it as it falls to the ground, NASA gets Prada to design its new spacesuits.



This is not a joke (https://gizmodo.com/the-astronaut-wears-prada-axiom-reveals-the-first-lunar-spacesuits-since-apollo-2000512497?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email). Prada obviously didn't design the entire spacesuit, but they apparently did the aesthetics of it.



During the International Astronautical Congress, Axiom revealed (https://www.axiomspace.com/release/prada-axiom-suit) the flight design of its next generation suit, designed in partnership with luxury brand Prada. The company showed off its Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) without the dark layer that covered the spacesuit when it was first revealed (https://gizmodo.com/newly-unveiled-artemis-moon-suit-giant-leap-nasa-1850228292) over a year ago. Instead, the suit’s final form is that familiar white material that reflects heat and protects astronauts from lunar dust.



In one sense it's not THAT big a deal that NASA made this choice. Obviously looking cool is not a bad thing, and spaceflight should be sexy.
But NASA is facing one failure after another, delays stretching years, costs billions of dollars over budget, and an inability to even bring astronauts home from the space station without the aid of SpaceX. Boeing, its longtime favored contractor, and ULA, the quasi-government spacecraft maker, are total disasters.

Without SpaceX, Americans would be almost without access to space.

I'm not sure that focusing on the aesthetics of the spacesuits is job 1 right now. It is not totally irrelevant--I like cool, too--but it should be about 392nd on the list of important things. Not to mention that SpaceX could probably design a really cool-looking spacesuit.



With its flight design finally revealed, the modern, sleek look of the AxEMU spacesuit came through. Axiom Space partnered with Prada to draw on the brand’s expertise on design and material, while also trying to provide an aesthetically pleasing look for the astronauts on the Moon. “I’m very proud of the result we’re showing today…We’ve shared our expertise on high-performance materials, features, and sewing techniques, and we learned a lot,” Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement.




And why Prada, of all companies? I guess they are higher-end than Ralph Loren. And the Devil wears Prada.

Maybe they should have chosen Balenciaga if they wanted to go in that direction.

I don't want to make too big a deal about it, but it just doesn't sit right with me. It seems to reinforce the obvious fact that NASA has lost sight of its primary goal.

Gunny
10-19-2024, 09:44 AM
I wonder sometimes whose side military.com is on. Anyway, this is one of those happy to glad's that used to irk the sh*t out of me. Get a new commander: Everyone wears black leather boots. Next commander: everyone wears ONLY coyote t-shirts and desert boots while in theater. Jungle boots allowed. Jungle boots not allowed. We're changing from wool/winter and poly summer uniforms to an all-weather wool/poly blend:rolleyes:

The author gets one thing right: appearance is everything. Regardless what you are doing, you better be looking good doing it:laugh:

To your point and the author's as well, phenomenal waste of money. One thing this zero doesn't point out in his great plan is those flame retardant uniforms are hotter'n hell. Where are most of the Marines deploying right now? Tropics.

A year or two from now a new CO will come along and say screw this. This uniform is impractical for a tropical environment:rolleyes: And the Marines themselves DO end up paying for all this uniform swapping, I don't care how this zero tries to wordsmith it otherwise.

Marine Raiders Ordered to Stop Wearing Multicam Uniforms to Align Elite Unit with Broader Service | Military.com (https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/10/18/marine-raiders-ordered-stop-wearing-multicam-uniforms-align-elite-unit-broader-service.html)