It’s not a spaceship wearing a Columbia Sportswear jacket landing on the moon, but it’s close.
If all goes as planned, Intuitive Machines this week will launch a rocket carrying a lunar lander with a critical part that’s wrapped with Columbia Sportswear’s Omni-Heat Infinity technology, the same material used in Columbia ski jackets.
The rocket launch is the latest accolade for Omni-Heat, the lightweight material that has generated billions of dollars in sales for Columbia since its 2010 launch.
Omni-Heat reflects sunlight. It also limits heat loss when not in the sun. When used in a ski jacket, the material retains the body’s heat.
The Infinity version, launched in 2021, is the highest-performance version of the material.
“I’m having a tough time in words trying to explain how excited I am,” Haskell Beckham, Columbia Sportswear’s vice president of innovation, told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “For the brand, I think it’s incredible.”
Columbia employs 3,140 at its headquarters in Washington County, according to its last annual report, making it the second-biggest company, in terms of local employees, in Oregon’s robust athletic and outdoor industry.
Intuitive Machines is a private space exploration company. This week’s launch is the first of its three planned missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. They’re laying the foundation for the Artemis mission, NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon.
The partnership with Columbia started in 2021. Beckham said from the start the two companies “spoke the same language” when it came to insulation technology.
The Omni-Heat Infinity material will wrap a part of the lunar lander that buffers its fuel tanks against temperatures in space that can range from 250 degrees below zero to 250 degrees above zero Fahrenheit.
“With this insulation on that panel it doesn’t allow those temperature extremes,” Beckham said.
Columbia Sportswear’s Arch Rock Double Wall elite jacket uses the company’s Omni-Heat Infinity technology.Courtesy Columbia Sportswear
Beckhman said testing and research that’s been done through the partnership has led to new Columbia products, including the Arch Rock Double Wall elite jacket, which launched in 2023.
The rocket launch, which will take place in Florida, could happen as early as Wednesday. The launch window will be open for a few days.
The mission will be streamed on NASA TV and the Intuitive Machines website. It should take five to seven days to reach the moon, meaning landing on the moon could happen on Feb. 21 or 22.
Landing safely on the moon isn’t a sure thing. A lunar rocket that launched last month failed because of a propellant leak.
Columbia is planning a landing party for employees. It’s also planning a takeover of the Sphere in Las Vegas on Feb. 19.
Beckham will watch the launch in person.
“I’ve never seen a launch in real life,” Beckham said. “I get chill bumps thinking about it.”
– Matthew Kish covers business, including the sportswear and banking industries. Reach him at 503-221-4386, [email protected] or @matthewkish.
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