In 1984, researchers for Coca Cola had an idea about dispensing carbonated beverages in space to give astronauts more choices to drink and also to create a stellar advertising opportunity. The company developed a can that would work in weightlessness to keep the cola fizzy without spewing out of the can. NASA agreed to let the astronauts try the Coke device on a Shuttle flight.
When Pepsi learned of this project, it also wanted to participate and developed its own container.
Both Coke and Pepsi products were flown on the STS 51-F mission in 1985 so crew members could evaluate the dispensers and do a taste test in orbit. NASA did not add either company’s product to the Space Shuttle food pantry based on mixed feedback.
Next time someone asks you… Has anyone ever opened a beer (or soda) bottle (or can) in space (or in a vacuum)? What happens? you can answer them.
Soda though in space is a bit of issue. Although the dispensing of the soda was solved by the can design, soda doesn’t react the same way in gravity. In the micro-gravity of space, gas bubbles do not escape through the surface of the liquid and out the top of the can. The gas tends to stay dissolved in the liquid. As a result, astronauts drinking carbonated beverages will consume significantly more gas by drinking a soda in space as compared to someone on Earth.
More gas results in more burps to release that gas. Burping in space can be unpleasant. On the ground, gases and liquids naturally separate in the digestive system because the lighter gases rise above the heavier denser liquids. In space, that separation does not happen. Burping in space usually means some liquid is expelled with the gas. “wet burp”.
Credit: airandspace.si.edu NASA donated this extra Pepsi Can designed for Space Shuttle Missions in the 1980s – the concept was tested on STS-51F
Credit: airandspace.si.edu NASA donated this extra Pepsi Can designed for Space Shuttle Missions in the 1980s – the concept was tested on STS-51F
