Cosmonauts on the ISS first tasted espresso



    Not so long ago, a coffee machine of a special design was sent to the ISS, with which you can easily prepare delicious coffee in orbit. A couple of days ago, the coffee machine was tested in work, brewing fragrant espresso.

    Drinking coffee here is possible only from a special cup, which earth experts have developed for zero gravity.


    The coffee machine was delivered aboard the ISS by the Dragon cargo ship. The astronauts were not able to test the espresso right away. The device itself was developed by several companies at once, including Lavazza, Argotec and ESA. The weight of the coffee machine is 20 kg.

    To develop the dishes, a whole team of mathematicians and physicists was involved, who calculated in detail the parameters of the space cups for espresso.

    Each corner, the bend of the cups is calculated, there is not a single extra detail. The front part of the “cup” is formed in such a way that the astronaut can drink coffee in the usual way, drinking a drink in small portions, without the risk of getting burned.

    The creation of such a cup required special knowledge of the behavior of liquids under micro-gravity conditions. Previously, the specialists who created the space cup for espresso also created a space toilet where there are no moving parts, as well as a fuel supply system where the fuel flows by itself.



    The development of the cup began back in 2008, then the project was suspended (there was no need for its implementation) and now the project was completed at an accelerated pace - because if you have a coffee machine sent by Italians, you need to drink coffee from something, right? Of course, it would be possible to adapt a regular tube, pour coffee in there, and wait until it cools down - but then the astronaut will be deprived of the pleasure of inhaling the aroma of coffee and enjoying the foam.

    After several years, the development turned out to be necessary and in demand, and astronauts now have the opportunity to drink coffee. I wonder if the inhabitants of the ISS will drink coffee every day, or will they afford this pleasure once a week to save time?

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