About Our Heritage
From Santa Cruz to Tranquility Base: The Lightweight Headset Takes Flight
Plantronics joins the world in celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the moon landing. We are extremely proud of our history with NASA and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, which served as a catalyst for nearly five decades of audio innovation at Plantronics.
Plantronics was founded in 1961 to design, develop and manufacture specialized aircraft electronics, but an accident in the fledgling NASA space program in 1962 created the opportunity that would take the company’s earliest headset design higher than anyone imagined. During the second manned Mercury mission, "Gus" Grissom had to scramble out of his capsule when the hatch detonated prematurely, sinking the capsule in 15,000 feet of water and taking Grissom's communications system with it.
NASA realized that they needed an astronaut-worn lightweight emergency communications system, and contacted ITT Labs for a solution. The new system included the MS50 headset, the first headset developed by Plantronics, which caught the eye of astronaut Walter "Wally" Schirra, who was scheduled to fly the next Mercury mission. Schirra contacted Plantronics and asked if the MS50 headset could be adapted to fit inside his helmet - not just as the back-up it was intended to be. And the rest is history.
So on October 3, 1962, Schirra wore the first Plantronics headset in outer space as he traveled six orbits around the Earth. Back at Plantronics, a new division was created to manufacture headsets specifically for the space program - SPENCOM: SPace ENvironmental COMmunications. Shortly thereafter, Plantronics became one of the few independent manufacturers identified by name as a NASA supplier.
Plantronics moved from its humble beginnings to become a leading aviation headset supplier and the communications system provider for NASA space flights. It was the dawn of the lightweight headset age - and the precursor of many innovations to come.
Clear from the Moon
Of course, all of these initial forays into space were merely appetizers for NASA's intended main course: the moon. After Apollo missions 8 and 10 successfully achieved lunar orbit, NASA was ready to aim for the moment that came to define a century.
July 20, 1969. Families gathered around their televisions to watch as Neil Armstrong, stepping from the Lunar Module Eagle 1, uttered those famous words through his Plantronics headset - words that are forever imprinted upon the world's collective consciousness: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Expanding Opportunities
Today, the idea that traveled to the moon is still powered and defined by Plantronics' unending quest for innovation. It's what first turned the idea into reality. And it's what has laid the foundation for everything since. From mission critical to business critical to consumer must-have, all of the quality and experience of the past 48 years have set the stage for innovations to come.
