The costume designers on “Enterprise” were clearly aiming for a midpoint between modern 21st-century NASA space suits and 23rd-century Captain Kirk uniforms. The “Star Trek” department colors were present on the “Enterprise” jumpsuits, but as mere colored shoulder accents. Otherwise, most characters wore all blue. The Vulcan first officer T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) was given textured, form-fitting catsuits to wear. Because of the lascivious underpinnings of the show, audiences also learned that everyone wore loosely draped, lightweight grey underwear with no support.
But the space suits were the biggest issue for the cast. To add to the NASA textures of the show, characters were frequently seen in astronaut outfits, complete with helmets and massive gloves. According to Keating, those space suits were heavy, which became a problem when an actor has to shoot all day long. He explained:
“The sets, the effects, the camera stuff is so much more difficult, which for the actor translates to a lot more hours, many more takes, and so on. The spacesuits look great, but, my god, they are heavy. I’m strong. I pitied the female cast members. You carry around a five-pound bucket of water for a couple of hours. The helmets alone are 16 pounds and they’re not connected to the bodysuit, so it’s your neck that’s carrying that thing.”
When Kirk wore a spacesuit, it looked awkward but was at least made of lightweight material, like mosquito netting. One might wonder why Starfleet didn’t continue using personal force fields as space suits, as seen in “Star Trek: The Animated Series.” That seemed to be the most comfortable option. But then, personal force fields would require a pretty massive power source, so perhaps they proved too unreliable.
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