Space Cola Wars

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Coca-Cola can designed for STS-51-F Coca Cola can designed for STS-51-F (cropped).jpg
Coca-Cola can designed for STS-51-F

In the Space Cola Wars, the major soft drink competitors Coca-Cola and Pepsi engaged in a costly marketing campaigns and product tests to get their beverages into space, in continuation of the so-called "Cola Wars". The competition began in 1985 during the STS-51-F Space Shuttle mission, when astronauts tested specially designed soda cans from each company to see how the carbonated drinks would perform in microgravity. In a widely publicized experiment, Coca-Cola's sophisticated fluid dispenser performed better than Pepsi's modified shaving cream can in dispensing drinkable soda.

Contents

Over the next decade, Coca-Cola continued developing enhanced space-rated soda dispensers that flew on subsequent shuttle missions to further study the effects of carbonation and taste perception in weightlessness. In 1996, Pepsi paid $300 million to create the first TV advertisement filmed in space aboard the Russian Mir space station.

1985: STS-51-F

In a heavily publicized marketing experiment, astronauts aboard STS-51-F drank carbonated beverages from specially designed cans from Cola Wars competitors Coca-Cola and Pepsi. [1] [2] According to astronaut Loren W. Acton, after Coke developed its experimental dispenser for an earlier shuttle flight, Pepsi insisted that Coke should not be the first cola in space, and contacted the White House through their contacts. The experiment was delayed until Pepsi could develop its own system, and the two companies' products were assigned to STS-51-F. [3]

...the Coke can had had a lot of work put into it, and was designed to dispense a beverage without stirring up the liquid. The Pepsi can, when it showed up, looked like a shaving cream can. In fact, the Pepsi logo was just stuck on a paper wrapper, and when we peeled it off, indeed it was just a shaving cream can. It still had the shaving cream logo on it. Pepsi understood that this had nothing whatsoever to do with soda in space. It had to do with PR. [3]

There were four cans of each Coca-Cola and Pepsi on board. [4] Red Team tested Coke, and Blue Team tested Pepsi. As part of the experiment, each team was photographed with the cola logo. Acton said that while the sophisticated Coke system "dispensed soda kind of like what we're used to drinking on Earth", the Pepsi's shaving cream can "dispensed soda filled with bubbles" that was "not very drinkable". [3] Acton said that "this stupid thing was taking more time than our serious experiments"; when he gives speeches in schools, audiences are much more interested in hearing about the cola experiment than in solar physics. [3]

According to Pepsi, they spent 14 million dollars on their design, [4] while Coca-Cola's dispenser costed $250,000. NASA considered these dispensers an "engineering demonstration", but for both companies it was a PR actions. [5] Coca-Cola claimed a win in the "Space Cola Wars" stating that it is "the first soft drink tasted in space". [6]

Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus

1995: FGBA-1 on STS-63

STS063-313-016 (cropped).jpg
Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus on STS-63
Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Titov works with samples for the CGBA.jpg
Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Titov works with samples for the CGBA

BioServe Space Technologies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, developed the Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-1 (FGBA-1) in cooperation with Coca-Cola. It dispensed pre-mixed soda for astronauts' consumption and studied their changed taste perceptions. Astronauts rated control samples before and after flight. [7] According to the University of Colorado Boulder, "FGBA served a very pertinent role in validating engineering techniques for the containment, manipulation, and transfer of supersaturated two-phase fluids in microgravity which was a relatively uncharacterized problem at the time and is a significant challenge outside of just carbonated beverages". FGBA also had an "integral heart rate monitor to track astronauts' physiological reactions". [8] FGBA-1 flew on STS-63 in 1995 and dispensed pre-mixed beverages. [8] [9]

1996: FGBA-2 on STS-77

255-STS-STS077-364-026 (cropped).jpg
Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 2 on STS-77
STS-77 coke preparation.jpg
Pilot Curtis Brown prepares to activate FGBA-2, on the middeck

FGBA-2 was developed for use on STS-77 as a test bed to determine if carbonated beverages can be produced from separately stored carbon dioxide, water and flavored syrups and determine if the resulting fluids can be made available for consumption without bubble nucleation and resulting foam formation. The unit held 1.65 liters (0.36 imp gal; 0.44 U.S. gal) each of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Powerade. [8] [10]

Pepsi Mir advertisement

In 1996, Pepsi paid 300 million dollars to shoot the "first ad shot in space". Russian cosmonauts Yuri Onufrienko and Yuri Usachev filmed a video on the Mir Space Station during a space walk, while American astronaut Shannon Lucid assisted them from the station, "keeping an eye on their life support systems and filming the ad". [11] Cosmonauts filmed "a four-foot-tall replica" [5] of "Pepsi’s new blue can design". [11]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-51-F</span> 1985 American crewed spaceflight

STS-51-F was the 19th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger. It launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 29, 1985, and landed eight days later on August 6, 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coca-Cola</span> Carbonated soft drink

Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings each day. Coca-Cola ranked No. 94 in the 2024 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. Based on Interbrand's "best global brand" study of 2023, Coca-Cola was the world's sixth most valuable brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cola</span> Carbonated soft drink

Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils, and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imitated by other manufacturers. Most colas originally contained caffeine from the kola nut, leading to the drink's name, though other sources of caffeine are generally used in modern formulations. The Pemberton cola drink also contained a coca plant extract. His non-alcoholic recipe was inspired by the coca wine of pharmacist Angelo Mariani, created in 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pepsi</span> Soft drink by PepsiCo

Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo. As of 2023, Pepsi is the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long-standing rivalry in what has been called the "cola wars".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cream soda</span> Soft drink

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-63</span> 1995 American crewed spaceflight to Mir

STS-63 was the second mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried out the first rendezvous of the American Space Shuttle with Russia's space station Mir. Known as the 'Near-Mir' mission, the flight used Space Shuttle Discovery, which lifted off from launch pad 39B on February 3, 1995, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. A night launch and the 20th mission for Discovery, it marked the first time a Space Shuttle mission had a female pilot, Eileen Collins, and the first EVAs for both a UK born astronaut, Michael Foale, and a US astronaut of African heritage, Bernard A. Harris, Jr. It also carried out the successful deployment and retrieval of the Spartan-204 platform, along with the scheduled rendezvous and flyaround of Mir, in preparation for STS-71, the first mission to dock with Mir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-77</span> 1996 American crewed spaceflight

STS-77 was the 77th Space Shuttle mission and the 11th mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The mission began from launch pad 39B from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 19 May 1996 lasting 10 days and 40 minutes and completing 161 revolutions before landing on runway 33. The defense and aerospace technology company L'Garde was responsible for the design and manufacture of the Antenna in the Inflatable Antenna Experiment, a key component of the STS-77 mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surge (drink)</span> Brand of citrus-flavored soft drink

Surge is a citrus-flavored soft drink first produced in the 1990s by the Coca-Cola Company to compete with Pepsi's Mountain Dew. Surge was advertised as having a more "hardcore" edge, much like Mountain Dew's advertising at the time, in an attempt to lure customers away from Pepsi. It was originally launched in Norway as Urge in 1996, and was so popular that it was released in the United States as Surge in 1997. Lagging sales caused production to be ended in 2003 for most markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soda fountain</span> Device dispensing carbonated soft drinks

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">OK Soda</span> Experimental soft drink

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Club Cool</span> Coca-Cola beverage store at Epcot

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornelius keg</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherry cola</span>

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References

  1. O'Toole, Thomas. "Cola Clash Is Taking To Heavens". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. Pearlman, Robert (May 31, 2001). "A Brief History of Space Marketing". Space.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Loren Acton: The Coke and Pepsi Flight". Air & Space/Smithsonian . Smithsonian Institution. November 18, 2010. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Gupta, Anika. "The Cola Wars. Smear Campaigns in Space?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  5. 1 2 Koren, Marina (19 April 2019). "A Soda Company's Long Obsession With Outer Space". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 4 April 2021.
  6. "'Space cola wars' at 35: When Coca-Cola, Pepsi tested soda in space | collectSPACE". collectSPACE.com. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  7. "STS-63 Press Kit" (PDF) (Press release). Titusville, FL: NASA. February 1995.
  8. 1 2 3 "FGBA". BioServe Space Technologies. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  9. Orloff, Richard W. (January 2001) [Press Kit May 1996]. "Space Shuttle Mission STS-77" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2003. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  10. National Aeronautics and Space Administration accessdate 2009-06-13
  11. 1 2 "The First Ad Shot in Space: MIR's Pepsi Ad | Going To Space | Space is for Everyone". goingtospace.com. Retrieved 27 May 2024.