In 1985, Coca-Cola and Pepsi Battled in an Incredible Space Shuttle War

In 1985, NASA tried to reconcile scientific requirements and commercial pressure. At the same time, Coca-Cola and Pepsi continue their rivalry on a new land: space. For the first time, soft drinks are tested in orbit aboard the Challenger shuttle, in a tense context where the public image of the space agency has as much as the technical results. The two brands designed specially modified cans to operate in weightlessness, hoping to impose their product as “the first soda of space”.

Why send soda to space?

In the middle of the Colas war, Coca-Cola seemed in 1985 to occupy a new land: that of space. The objective is not only advertising. For the company, placing its product in such an extreme environment represents a strong symbol of modernity, innovation and cultural supremacy. This project also responds to an image logic: in a context where NASA missions benefit from global media coverage, associating the brand with such an adventure offers unprecedented visibility.

NASA's decision, which is not very favorable to commercial operations, is explained by political and budgetary factors. The American administration then seeks to strengthen the role of space shuttle in the national economy. It in fact multiplies collaborations with the private sector. Validate the presence of Coca-Cola, then Pepsi, on an inhabited flight, becomes a way of showing that NASA can also serve as a showcase for American industry.

Pepsi, made aware of the project of its competitor, intervenes quickly to demand equal treatment. Not to embark the two brands could have led to accusations of favoritism. NASA therefore authorizes the two systems on board, without officially integrating them into the scientific program of the mission. Flight STS-51F thus becomes a discreet theater of commercial confrontation.

This marketing intrusion in space marks a turning point. The idea of a consumer product tested in microgravity sets the tone of the decades to come, where the border between scientific research and commercial communication is becoming more and more porous.

How did these space cans work?

Transpose a soda can in space required much more than just a change of material. The main problem was in the absence of severity. On earth, the liquid descends thanks to its own weight, which allows you to drink naturally. In orbit, nothing grows soda towards the neck. The slightest drop can detach and float, threatening on -board equipment.

According to the Smithsonian MagazineCoca-Cola was the first to design a suitable prototype. Called “Space Can”, this 370 ml capsule contained an internal flexible pocket, similar to a bladder, compressed by carbon dioxide. By pressing the pocket, the liquid was expelled, and a small spout allowed to direct it towards the mouth. The system also included a mechanism to release a controlled quantity of carbon dioxide, simulating the usual bubbles.

Pepsi, for its part, had to design a competing version in an emergency version after learning the coca-cola maneuver. According to the Bbchis space can contained a pressurized internal tank, separated from the liquid, which pushed the soda towards a small duct when it was activated. The design was more rigid, but less effective to contain the foam.

THE New York Times reported at the time that the two devices had been developed without prior tests in weightlessness, which made their behavior uncertain. The common goal remained clear: to control the exit of the liquid and prevent any uncontrolled ejection of bubbles in the cabin. These two technologies were therefore as much advertising instruments as research prototypes on microgravity fluids.

What happened on a challenger?

On July 29, 1985, the Challenger shuttle took off for the STS-51F mission, taking seven astronauts on board-and an unusual cargo. These are the twelve soda cans specially designed for space, six of Coca-Cola and Six from Pepsi, taking the road to space. Four crew members, chosen to test the two systems, each receive three cans from each brand. This officially non -priority test takes place between two scientific experiences. However, it draws disproportionate attention, both in the media and in the corridors of NASA.

The first attempts quickly reveal the limits of the prototypes. According to Smithsonian National Air and Space Museumastronauts note that the opening of cans produces excessive foam, difficult to control. The liquid, less dense in microgravity, releases bubbles which do not behave as on earth. They remain trapped in soda or suddenly detach themselves by floating.

Tony England, one of the participants in the tests, reports that the taste was altered, probably due to temperature or pressure change. But above all, drinking a gas soda in weightlessness is accompanied by digestive Genoa. On earth, gases are expelled naturally by the stomach. In orbit, they accumulate, causing “wet” belching, in its terms, that is to say accompanied by liquid.

Pepsi, whose system is less efficient, is considered more difficult to use. Coca-Cola, slightly better rated, also does not satisfy the conditions of space consumption. None of the two will be retained for future flights. This apparently modest experience underlines the complexity of a gesture as simple as drinking a soft drink when gravity disappears.

What was the impact of this spatial “Colas War”?

The episode of Space Cola Wars was to symbolize the technological power of two American brands. However, it above all revealed the inadequacy of consumer products under space conditions. None of the two cans convinced NASA. No gaseous soda will be integrated permanently into the menus of astronauts. Coca-Cola nevertheless tries to capitalize on his presence on a challenger. His space can be quickly offered to the Smithsonian Institution, as a symbol of his participation in the space adventure. Pepsi, back in the face of this media blow, prefers not to communicate massively on its results.

© NASA

Astronauts testing sodas.

In the press, the event quickly takes the name of Space Cola Warsmid-fascinated, half-ironed formula, which sums up the ambiguity of the operation. The American media highlight both the inventiveness of experience and its incongruous character. THE New York Times evokes a test which questions the priority of interests in space missions. On the scientific level, immediate interest is limited, but the episode opens the way to more rigorous research on the behavior of fluids in microgravity.

And now ?

In addition, since then, other companies have followed. Orbital flight has become a strategic visibility space for consumer brands, especially since the growing opening of space programs to private players. In 2001, Pizza Hut became the first fast food chain to send a pizza to the International Space Station (ISS), delivered aboard a Russian Progress. We even affix his logo on a proton rocket in 2011. In 2008, an advertisement of the skin care brand Estée Lauder is filmed in the ISS. Then, in 2020, the company SpaceX transports cargoes on behalf of trade partners within the framework of private missions, whilexiom Space develops private modules for commercial uses.

The trend has accentuated with the multiplication of suborbital flights for tourist purposes. Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX now integrate civilian passengers into their programs, often sponsored or supported by partner companies. In 2021, SpaceX sent four civilians in space for the mission Inspiration4funded in part by business partners and accompanied by a large communication campaign.

These operations reflect an evolution: space, formerly a domain reserved for states, gradually becomes a field of experimentation and communication for companies. If the Space Cola Wars From 1985 was an exception, they appear today as a first step in a broader transformation, where space is also perceived as a new market.