Coca-Cola: The First Soft Drink Sipped in Space

On July 12, 1985, astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger made history—not by discovering a new planet or conducting groundbreaking experiments, but by cracking open a cold one. Coca-Cola became the first soft drink ever consumed in outer space, beating rival Pepsi to the punch in what became known as the "Space Cola Wars."

This wasn't just about quenching astronaut thirst. It was a high-stakes marketing battle that cost Coca-Cola roughly a quarter of a million dollars to pull off.

The Race to Space

Coca-Cola approached NASA first with an ambitious idea: create a soda dispenser that could work in microgravity. The challenge was enormous. Carbonated beverages don't behave the same way in space—without gravity, bubbles don't rise to the top, and liquids don't pour predictably.

Engineers developed a specialized can that looked like a standard aluminum Coke can but contained sophisticated technology inside: a laminated plastic bag filled with soda and a carbon dioxide-pressurized bladder to propel the drink out in zero gravity.

But when Pepsi caught wind of the project, they weren't about to let their archrival have space all to themselves. They quickly developed their own space-worthy container, and NASA agreed to test both beverages on the same mission.

The Historic Sip

During the STS-51-F mission, crew members tested both dispensers and conducted taste tests. Coca-Cola claimed victory because astronauts tested their can first—even if only by a matter of hours.

Coke's marketing department wasted no time declaring: "Coca-Cola, the first choice in refreshment around the world, is now the first soft drink tasted in space."

Did It Actually Work?

Here's the less glamorous truth: drinking carbonated beverages in space turned out to be... problematic. The specially designed cans worked, technically, but astronauts reported that the drinks didn't taste quite right in microgravity.

• Carbonation behaved unpredictably, causing discomfort
• Without gravity to separate gas from liquid, burps became "wet burps" (as unpleasant as it sounds)
• The flavor profile seemed different in space

Despite the technical achievement, sodas never became a staple of space cuisine. The Space Cola Wars fizzled out as both companies realized that winning wasn't quite as sweet as they'd hoped—literally and figuratively.

Still, Coca-Cola earned its place in space history, proving that even 200 miles above Earth, corporations will find a way to one-up each other. And somewhere in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, you can see one of those original Coca-Cola space cans—a testament to humanity's determination to bring our earthly comforts to the final frontier, no matter the cost.