Astronauts Can Finally Drink Coffee in Space

There is no smell that can be equal to freshly brewed coffee. For most people, coffee is the mainstay of their day. Have you ever wondered, being a coffee addict, what will these astronauts get to drink in space? Well, in the year 2015, the SpaceX Dragon supply spaceship docked the station with groceries, supplies, and the ISSpresso, a long-awaited espresso machine. Get into the blog to discover about space coffee and how do astronauts drink in space? 

Espresso Machine in Space

For years, astronauts have wished for a cup of hot coffee in space, but Italy’s space agency has made it into a reality. Engineers from the country’s aerospace sector collaborated on the new machine, as did the Lavazza coffee firm.

In 2015, astronauts on the International Space Station stretched a robotic arm and grabbed the SpaceX Dragon in a live online assignment. Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian astronaut of the European Space Agency, controlled the robotic arm. Her comrade Luca Parmitano stated in 2013 that the only thing he truly missed while serving aboard the space station was cappuccino.

The ISSpresso machine is a prototype that will go to the International Space Station in April 2015 on Orbital Sciences’ robotic Cygnus supply vehicle. Astronauts will just require a few minutes to set up ISSpresso on the orbiting lab. All they’ll need to do is take out the box, fasten the machine to the wall with bungee cords, and fetch some water in a standard bag. The astronauts may then have a cup of espresso with their space cuisine.

But this method saved a significant amount of development time; it took 1.5 years to complete the machine, compared to around six years to design and manufacture an espresso maker from scratch. Argotec spent 18 months designing, building, and testing ISSpresso in four major versions. 

• First Model: The initial model was called 2-D, which shows a hydraulic and pneumatic system prototype. A commercial brewer and a pump were utilized.
• Second Model: The Elegance model was built to evaluate the machine’s mechanical functions and many of the mechanical components match those utilized for the flying unit.
• Third Model: The third model, known as the Ground Model or the “Earth model.” It is nearly identical in functionality to the flying model. This model was subjected to a rigorous testing program in order to acquire launch certification.
• Fourth Model: The ultimate version of the Protoflight model, i.e. flight model, includes all of the finest technological solutions used in the preceding models. NASA has validated the flight model for use on the International Space Station after subjecting it to qualifying processes.