It is in a context of collaboration between space agencies and non-space industrial sectors to promote space exploration that Cnes has initiated a partnership with Spartan Space, Decathlon and the Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology (Medes) in order to to develop a European intra-vehicular spacesuit. This suit will be essential to ensure the safety of astronauts during critical phases such as launch and landing aboard a space vehicle. It is therefore not designed for extravehicular activities in space.
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This ambitious Cnes project, carried out as part of the Spaceship FR project which prepares future manned and roboticsroboticswill be coordinated by Spartan Space, a start-upstart-up which develops lunar habitats or for Martian bases. Thanks to Decathlon’s globally recognized expertise in the field of textiles for various sports, and Medes’ 35 years of expertise in space physiology and medicine, which is a historic partner of Cnes, this collaboration promises significant advances.
This project is already underway at Decathlon’s Research and Development Center in Lille, where project partners are actively collaborating on the creation of prototypes. It is expected to culminate later this year with the delivery of a functional prototype of a European intra-vehicular spacesuit. It is too early to say whether this suit could be used by European Corps astronauts, or even space tourists.
This project is interesting in that it demonstrates the benefits of collaboration between different actors, where each partner brings unique expertise for the development of “space” technology. In addition, it stimulates cooperation with industries in sectors not usually linked to space, which can accelerate innovation, reduce development costs and maximize the benefits of synergiessynergies between apparently distinct domains. This collaborative approach can pave the way for ambitious and innovative projects, while promoting the diversification of space technologies.
Concretely, in the case of this space suit, Decathlon, specialist in consumer products linked to sport and outdoor adventure, wishes to confront the field of space by providing its expertise in innovative materials, lightness and comfort, which are essential aspects for the design of spacesuits.
Decathlon design teams have their say
Why is Decathlon participating in this project?
Decathlon : Decathlon brings all its know-how to this project with the aim of designing an innovative, ergonomic, comfortable and practical intra-vehicular spacesuit. In co-constructionconstruction with its expert teams in the design of sports products (textiles, footwear, equipment, materials, etc.))), and in Design Thinking (global design and innovation process, centered on humans), Decathlon is at the genesis of this project with the Spartan Space teams. Originally, the idea was to have teams from different backgrounds work together, allowing them to challengerchallenger in creating future technologies while sharing common human values. The result of this exploration phase exceeded the expectations of the Decathlon, Cnes, Spartan Space and Medes teams, and they now wish to go further in this research topic.
What return does Decathlon expect from this participation?
Decathlon : Each partner (Decathlon, Cnes, Spartan Space, Medes) brings unique expertise, essential to the development of the technologies necessary for the manufacture of a cutting-edge spacesuit. This collaboration allows in particular an exchange of mutual expertise and know-how. Working on common needs (lightness, durability, resistanceresistance materials…) to the sports and space industries allows the search for solutions and the development of cutting-edge techniques, moreover in a new environment for Decathlon.
What will Decathlon’s participation in the creation of this combination consist of?
Decathlon : After an exchange of knowledge and strategic planning, the four teams – including designers, prototypists and engineers from Decathlon – embarked on the full development of spacesuit prototypes. The delivery of a prototype, an elegant, ergonomic synthesis of expertise and collective innovation, is planned for 2024.
Will patents be filed if new materials are found for its production?
Decathlon : This project is under development and this is information on which we do not wish to communicate at this stage.
Will “general public” products be derived from this combination?
Decathlon : For the moment, there are no plans to deploy products accessible to the general public from this project which is above all a research and innovation project.
