About nine years ago, Haskell Beckham found himself in the glaring sun at a Portland Timbers game. Naturally, the Columbia Sportswear vice president of innovation started to think about clothing that could keep him cool.
“We were just dripping in sweat,” said Beckham, who attended the game with Woody Blackford, Columbia’s chief product officer. “We spent most of the game talking about what we can do with clothing to prevent heat buildup.”
The conversation led to the invention of Omni-Shade Sun Deflector, a material that reflects sunlight and is used in some of Columbia’s hoodies and half-zips.
On Thursday, the technology landed on the moon. Although the landing didn’t go as smoothly as hoped, it marked the second time in two years that a Columbia product touched down on the lunar surface, a welcome bit of news after a recent drop in annual sales and a round of layoffs.
It’s also given the company another chance to show off its innovations on a cosmic stage. Beckham said Columbia now has more than 200 groups of patents.
“A lot of consumers don’t necessarily even recognize us as being an innovative company,” he said. “We’d love to change that perception.”
Last year, Columbia’s Omni-Heat Infinity technology wrapped part of a lunar lander that Intuitive Machines sent to the moon, the first time a U.S. spacecraft touched down on the surface since 1972. Thursday’s landing was the private space exploration company’s second trip to the moon.
Columbia hitched another ride, this time with two technologies on board.
In space, temperatures can swing between 250 degrees below zero and 250 degrees above zero Fahrenheit, Beckham said. That makes thermal management a big problem.
“You don’t want things to get too cold,” Beckham said. “And there are other parts of a spacecraft you don’t want to get too hot.”
Columbia Sportswear’s technology wraps a helium tank on a lunar lander that on Thursday touched down on the moon.Courtesy Columbia Sportswear
Omni-Shade and Omni-Heat solve for both extremes.
Fitting for a product conceived in the glaring sun of a soccer game, Omni-Shade Sun Deflector uses dots of titanium dioxide to deflect solar rays. The technology is part of a blanket that covers the top of the lunar lander, protecting it from direct sunlight.
Omni-Heat Infinity, on the other hand, limits heat loss when not in the sun, keeping people in ski jackets warm.
“The Omni-Heat Infinity on this spacecraft is being used in the same way we use it in our jackets,” Beckham said, adding it’s being used to insulate helium tanks.
Beckham watched the launch of the rocket carrying the Columbia technology last week at the Kennedy Space Center.
Although the landing didn’t go as hoped, and the lander might be on its side, it touched down on the moon Thursday morning after a roughly 240,000-mile trip.
Beckham watched at a landing party at Columbia’s headquarters in Washington County.
The partnership with Intuitive Machines already has led to new products. Beckham expects more to come.
“Anytime people are involved in a technically difficult and challenging endeavor like trying to land on the moon, you learn new stuff,” he said. “And the new stuff that you learn, you can integrate into your daily work to create better products for people right here on earth.”
– Matthew Kish covers business, including the sportswear and banking industries. Reach him at 503-221-4386, [email protected] or @matthewkish.
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