From Supermarkets to the Stars
For decades, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have fought one of the world’s fiercest brand battles, waged across billboards, television, and supermarket shelves. But in the summer of 1985, their competition soared to new heights—literally. With the help of NASA and the brave crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger, both cola giants raced to become the first soft drink enjoyed by astronauts in orbit. What followed was a tale of engineering innovation, marketing ambition, and unexpected challenges of drinking soda in space.
The Challenge: Taking Soda into Space
The idea of sipping a soda in space might sound simple. But in microgravity, everything changes: liquids don’t pour, bubbles behave strangely, and carbonation can be more curse than pleasure. Yet, as the shuttle era was bringing space travel closer to the public imagination, both Coke and Pepsi saw an irresistible opportunity: whoever reached orbit first could claim the ultimate marketing victory—“the first cola in space.”
NASA’s Dilemma
NASA, under increasing public scrutiny to justify the shuttle program’s cost, had begun allowing carefully vetted commercial experiments on missions. When Coca-Cola approached the agency with a prototype for a space-worthy soda can, NASA saw an opportunity to engage the public, generate positive PR, and test microgravity beverage technology for longer spaceflights. But NASA also wanted to avoid the perception of endorsing a single brand.
The Race Begins: Engineering the Space Can
Coca-Cola’s Early Lead
Coca-Cola was the first to take concrete steps, investing about $250,000 in the development of a unique can for space. Their “Coke Space Can” featured a pressurized bladder and a manual valve to prevent soda and carbonation from mixing uncontrollably in microgravity. It was an impressive feat of engineering, requiring months of prototyping and testing to ensure astronauts could safely and cleanly drink cola aboard the shuttle.
Pepsi Joins the Fray
Not to be outdone, Pepsi demanded equal time. Upon hearing of Coke’s deal with NASA, Pepsi engineers worked frantically, spending millions—some estimates run as high as $14 million—to create their own space can. Pepsi’s design was simpler, essentially a standard can equipped with a special valve and internal bladder, but developed in record time to ensure both brands could go head-to-head in orbit.
NASA agreed to bring both beverages, keen to maintain neutrality. Thus, the “Space Cola Wars” were officially set to launch.
Launch Day: The Challenger’s Mission
On July 29, 1985, Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off on mission STS-51-F. Tucked among the scientific payloads and research equipment were four cans each of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, ready for the first-ever space taste test.
Astronauts as Taste Testers
The crew, initially bemused by their new role as beverage judges, soon learned this would be no ordinary soda break. Drinking carbonated beverages in zero gravity presents a suite of unexpected problems:
- No “Pour”: Liquids don’t fall into your mouth, so a pressurized can was necessary.
- Bubble Trouble: In zero gravity, carbon dioxide bubbles don’t rise to the top. Instead, they stay suspended, resulting in super-fizzy, frothy, and unpredictable soda.
- “Wet Burps”: Perhaps most unpleasant, astronauts found that burping after drinking space soda released not just gas but liquid, as the bubbles failed to separate from the beverage. This “wet burp” was universally disliked.
The Great Space Soda Taste Test
The Results
The astronauts took their jobs seriously, testing both brands and the special cans in orbit. According to later interviews and mission records:
- Coca-Cola’s can worked best. Its sophisticated internal mechanism dispensed a relatively steady stream of liquid, making it more manageable and less messy in zero-G.
- Pepsi’s can fizzed excessively. The soda was much too foamy, and astronauts struggled to drink it cleanly.
- Taste and Temperature: Both brands suffered the same fate: warm, flat, and overly carbonated soda. The shuttle had no refrigeration for the cans, and most crew members found the beverages unappealing.
- No Clear Taste Winner: Some astronauts preferred one brand over the other, but the consensus was that both were far less enjoyable than on Earth.
Publicity and the Media
When the news broke, both Coke and Pepsi rushed to claim victory. Coca-Cola, having technically been the first cola consumed in space, touted its engineering triumph. Pepsi, meanwhile, focused on its ability to disrupt Coke’s exclusivity, framing the test as an equal “battle of the brands.” NASA, for its part, played down the competition, emphasizing the experiment’s contribution to understanding fluids in space.
The Aftermath: Marketing, Innovation, and Legacy
Marketing Blitz
Back on Earth, both companies launched massive marketing campaigns. Coca-Cola ran ads declaring it was “the first soft drink enjoyed in space.” Pepsi countered with commercials celebrating its space ambitions and, later, filmed a memorable commercial aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1996, becoming the first soda featured in a commercial filmed in orbit.
Further Innovations
NASA, having learned much from the experiment, continued to collaborate on beverage technology. In the 1990s, new dispensers allowed astronauts to mix and enjoy cold drinks, both carbonated and non-carbonated, using pouches and advanced delivery systems. These innovations laid groundwork for future long-duration missions, where astronaut comfort and nutrition would be crucial.
Cultural Impact
The Space Cola Wars became a symbol of 1980s branding excess and corporate rivalry. Yet, they also represented a genuine step forward in understanding the unique challenges of life in space—lessons that would inform the design of food, drink, and even medicines for future astronauts.
More Than a Gimmick
In retrospect, the Space Cola Wars were about more than just publicity stunts. They highlighted the adaptability of American engineering, the importance of public-private partnerships in space exploration, and the ways in which even the most familiar parts of daily life—like a can of soda—become strange and challenging in the alien environment of space.
The experiment also reminded the public that space is not just about rockets and technology, but about people—about making life comfortable, even joyful, for those on the frontier. In the end, Coke and Pepsi’s rivalry gave us more than a fun story; it contributed in small but meaningful ways to our journey into the cosmos.
About The Author
