An Iron Man suit has been designed and built by a pair of technology companies that would allow thrill seekers to dive from the edge of space and land safely using thrusters instead of a parachute. Dubbed the RL Mark VI Space Space Diving Suit, you may be able to buy one in as little as three years.
Solar System Express (Sol-X) and Juxtopia LLC joined forces to design and build the new suit inspired by Tony Stark's body armor from the Iron Man comic books and movies. This new, futuristic bodywear provides thermal protection, boot thrusters, and augmented reality goggles similar to Google Glass, operated by voice commands. The whole system is controlled through the use of fingertip controls, and the prototype costs just $55,000.
"[O]ther human-computer interface modalities are being investigated for control of the MARK VI during its high speed decent as well," Dr. Jayfus Doswell, CEO of Juxtopia, said.
The idea for the suit was first devised in 2011, when Blaze Sanders, the CTO of Sol-X, heard of the upcoming jump from the edge of space planned by Felix Baumgartner, which took place the following year. Two years later, the team completed their prototype design, able to attach to a standard space suit.
"We won't be able to have powered flight and fly through the air like [Stark] does," Sanders said, "But the end goal is to have [the suit] land like he does in the movie."
This new control mechanism would allow thrill-seekers to dive from altitudes as high as 62 miles, directing their fall through the internal control device. The wingsuit and thrusters would provide the ability to make vertical landings similar to those made by Stark in the movies. A parachute would be included in the suit as a backup, should primary systems fail.
So far tested only in the laboratory, the team plans to take the invention into real-world trials next summer, beginning at an altitude of 1,500 feet. By early summer 2016, Sanders and his team hope to have a commercial version of the suit ready for purchase with an expected $20,000 price tag. Sanders imagines that the new invention will be used for both recreation and research. The suit may also, one day, allow stranded astronauts a way to escape from malfunctioning spacecraft in orbit around the Earth. Sanders has already lined up his first customer in Olav Zipser, an award-winning skydiver.
The 62-mile upper limit for jumps with this suit currently envisioned by the creators is over two-and-a-half times the distance that skydiving champion Felix Baumgartner jumped in 2012.
