SpaceX's 1st astronaut launch breaking new ground for style

first astronauts launched by X are breaking new ground for style with hip suits, gull-wing Teslas and a sleek rocketship — all of it white with black trim.

color coordinating is thanks to

NASA astronauts

“It is really neat, and I think biggest testament to that is my 10-year-old son telling me how cool I am w,” Hurley told Associated Press.

“X has gone all out" on capsule's appearance, he said. "And y’ve worked equally as hard to make innards and displays and everything else in vehicle work to perfection.”

It will also mark first attempt by a private company to send astronauts into orbit. Only governments — Russia, U.S., and China — have done that.

historic send-off deserves to look good, according to X. It alrey has a nice ring. Musk named his rocket after “Star Wars” Millennium Falcon. capsule name stems from “Puff Magic Dragon,” Musk’s jab at all doubters when he started X in 2002.

X designed and built its own suits, which are custom-fit. Safety came first. cool — or wow — factor was a close second.

“It’s important that suits are comfortable and also are inspiring,” explained X’s Benji Reed. a mission director. “But above all, it’s designed to keep crew safe.”

bulky, orange ascent and entry suits worn by shuttle astronauts h ir own attraction, according to Behnken, who like Hurley wore m for his two previous missions. Movies like “Armddon” and “ Cowboys” stole orange look whenever actors were “trying to pretend to be astronauts.”

On launch day, Hurley and Behnken will get rey inside Kennedy’s remodeled crew quarters, which dates back to two-man Gemini missions of mid-1960s. X techs will help astronauts into ir one-piece, two-layer pressure suits.

Hurley and Behnken will emerge through same double doors used on July 16, 1969, by Apollo 11′s Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins — Operations and Checkout Building w bears Armstrong’s name.

But inste of tritional Astrovan, two will climb into back seat of a Tesla Model X for nine-mile ride to Launch Complex 39A, same p used by moonmen and most shuttle crews. It's while y board Tesla that y'll see ir wives and young sons for last time before flight.

Making a comeback after three deces is NASA’s worm logo — wavy, futuristic-looking red letters spelling NASA, “A” resembling rocket se cones. worm orns Astro-Tesla, Falcon and even astronauts' suits, along with NASA’s original blue meatball-shaped logo.

white-suited Hurley and Behnken will transfer from white Tesla to white Dragon atop equally white Falcon 9.

“It’s going to be quite a show,” Reed promised.