Why Japan Sent a Bottle of Whiskey Into Space
A bottle of Japanese whiskey from Suntory was sent to the International Space Station on Tuesday. (Photo: AFP)
An unmanned cargo ship loaded with emergency supplies — including Japanese whisky — successfully docked at the International Space Station early Tuesday, officials said.
But thirsty astronauts will have to keep their hands off the golden tipple — it’s a science experiment.
Drinks giant Suntory sent the booze to space so it could test how time in a zero-gravity environment affects its flavor.
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Researchers for the company have said that storing the beverage in an environment with only slight temperature changes and limited liquid movement could lead to a mellower flavor.
The unusual cargo was placed inside the 5.5-ton vessel “Kounotori” (stork in Japanese), which blasted off from southern Japan last Wednesday attached to an H-IIB rocket.
It was also loaded with food, water, clothing, and tools necessary for experiments in space.
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Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, 45, who is living at the ISS, used a robotic arm to grab the vessel before it was successfully berthed at the station.
The cargo ship will leave the ISS and re-enter the earth’s atmosphere in late September, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
The delivery also contained parts for a water recycling system, after NASA asked its Japanese counterparts to include them as “emergency materials” following the failure in June to launch the U.S. Falcon 9 rocket.
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The unmanned SpaceX rocket exploded minutes after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, marking a major setback for the company headed by technology tycoon Elon Musk.
The accident was the third in less than a year involving U.S. and Russian supply ships bound for the International Space Station, and raised new concerns about the flow of food and gear to the astronauts living in orbit.
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