How different can a climber’s harness be from an astronaut’s restraint system? And what do a parachute and a nuclear warhead have in common? Maybe more than you’d think.

In the mid-20th century, the world split – not just ideologically, but technologically. As superpowers raced to build rockets, satellites, and orbital modules, something worked silently and relentlessly behind the scenes: straps. Whether securing astronauts in zero gravity, holding a fighter pilot’s gear in place, or stabilizing rescue equipment in the jungles of Southeast Asia, webbing played a critical role.

From parachutes to orbit: It all starts in the air

It began in World War II. After that came the jet age, paratrooper deployments, and early experiments with high-altitude flight. Every pilot relied on multiple webbing straps:

●     Webbing used to secure the parachute

●     Webbing for emergency ejection

●     Webbing used to stabilize gear in the cockpit

●     Webbing used to attach oxygen systems

If something failed, someone died. It was that simple. That’s why this era saw the creation of the first military standards for strap strength and stretch properties, such as MIL-W-4088, which is still referenced in military-grade applications today.

Enter nylon – a material that offered high tensile strength at a low weight. Later came even stronger synthetic fibers like Kevlar, known from ballistic vests, but also used in aerospace and tactical gear.

An astronaut with a strap around his waist

In 1961, Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to orbit the Earth. His survival depended, among other things, on a sophisticated system of restraint straps – keeping him secure inside his spacesuit, the Vostok capsule, and finally, the landing seat. In zero gravity, the laws of gravity simply don’t apply. Without reliable anchoring, every object can become a dangerous projectile.

Both NASA and the Soviet space program began developing interior restraint systems, such as cargo nets and structural reinforcement straps, to keep equipment in place during violent vibrations of launch and landing. Research such as the NASA Technical Report: Tether Systems in Microgravity introduced completely new approaches to working with webbing in weightless environments.

Military paranoia and the birth of tactical gear

While space programs raced for orbit, military forces prepared for ground conflict. Focus shifted to modular load-carrying systems – a development that would later shape civilian outdoor gear.

One key example is the MOLLE system (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment), developed by the U.S. military based on field experience and rigorous testing in the 1970s and 80s, and officially adopted in the 1990s. Today, MOLLE-style webbing is standard on tactical vests, rescue stretchers, and hiking backpacks alike.

The evolution of these systems was tightly connected with biomechanical and physiological research. One of the most comprehensive overviews can be found in the U.S. Army study “Load Carriage in Military Operations”, which analyzes the impact of straps and harness systems on performance, health, and safety in the field (PDF available here).

From military secrets to everyday innovation

What was once classified technology is now part of our everyday lives:

●     Climbing harnesses? Inspired by zero-gravity astronaut restraints.

●     Rescue stretchers? Derived from military evacuation kits.

●     Outdoor backpacks and belay systems? Built on the MOLLE webbing standard.

In this way, straps and webbing have become an invisible yet vital piece of everyday adventure. Thanks to modern fibers like Dyneema, we now reach levels of strength and durability that would’ve seemed impossible 50 years ago.

Want to see what today’s straps can really do?