Now You Can Own the NASA-Certified Space Coffee Cup

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti takes a sip of espresso from the zero-gravity cup. (Credit: NASA) If you’re planning a trip to space, or for some reason find yourself craving espresso while free falling, you can sip your favorite beverage like an astronaut. IRPI, an Oregon-based firm that specializes in spacecraft fluid systems, developed a uniquely shaped mug that let astronauts drink coffee like they would on earth. Recently, they’ve spun the feat of engineering into a side hustle, called Spaceware, to sell them. It all started back in 2008, when NASA astronaut Don Pettit had grown tired of sipping liquids out of pouches aboard the International Space Station. So Pettit reached out to IRPI and together they hatched a designs for space cup. Pettit used overhead transparency film he found aboard the space outpost to test the first prototype. He rolled the film into a teardrop-shaped container and squirted some ...