These are my notes and expanded thoughts from this month’s Space News segment on ABC Radio Hobart and ABC Northern Tasmania. Every month I join Lucie Cutting on Sunday mornings to chat about what’s happening above and beyond.
Here’s what we discussed, plus some of my notes, from this edition of the programme:
The most valuable 14 seconds in Australian aerospace history happened last month, while the most expensive corporate rivalry ever fought in orbit just turned 40.
Australia’s brief orbital debut on July 30th wasn’t the failure the headlines suggested. When Gilmour Space Technologies’ Eris rocket cleared the launch tower at Bowen and flew for ~14 seconds before crashing, it generated significant, valuable engineering data that no amount of ground testing is likely to provide. All four hybrid engines fired correctly for 23 seconds (longer than the flight), proving the world-first propulsion concept actually works. The sideways drift that doomed the mission likely revealed exactly what needs fixing for their second test flight.
This launch matters because Australia hasn’t launched an orbital rocket from its own soil since 1971. The investment and upcoming second attempt within six months position Australia to become the sixth nation with regular orbital launch capability. Even SpaceX needed four tries before Falcon 1 succeeded. As Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate perfectly put it (in very Aussie terms): congratulations to Gilmour Space Technologies on “having a crack”—they truly exemplify the Australian “have a go spirit.”
Meanwhile, 1985 marked the beginning of one of the most absurd corporate space battles ever waged. When Coca-Cola planned to be the first soft drink in space, Pepsi used political connections to force NASA to include both brands on Space Shuttle Challenger. The result was a 40-year rivalry that consumed hundreds of millions and produced some of the most spectacular failures in marketing history.
During the radio segment, I avoided naming the companies directly (because ABC…), but the engineering solutions were both absurd. Coca-Cola developed a multi-plastic bag compression system inside solid steel cans, pressurised with CO2, while Pepsi essentially created a shaving cream dispenser that dispensed cola-flavoured goo. Neither worked particularly well, and warm cola became astronauts’ least favourite space beverage experience.
The physics of carbonated drinks in space is unforgiving. Without gravity, CO2 bubbles don’t separate from liquid, creating “weird foamy spheres.” Microgravity causes facial swelling and nasal congestion, making everything taste bland, and CO2 stays trapped in the stomach, causing what astronauts diplomatically call “wet burps.”
Yet both companies persisted, spending a lot of money over the decades. The patents developed for space beverage systems now power home carbonation appliances, which is proof that even seemingly frivolous space research yields practical innovations. As I mentioned on air, space research, microgravity, understanding how fluids and chemistry works in space often yields really interesting innovations that we can then use on Earth.
The rivalry’s most expensive moment came in 1996 when one company spent $300 million filming a TV commercial on the Russian Mir space station, and the final chapter was 2019’s orbital billboard fiasco, where satellites would spell out energy drink ads in the night sky. Public outrage over “space vandalism” killed the project and led to federal laws banning obtrusive space advertising. As a Red Dwarf fan, this particularly amused me!
Both stories illuminate how we define success and failure in space. Australia’s 14-second flight generated invaluable engineering data from over 500 Australian suppliers and proved hybrid propulsion works. The cola wars represent what happens when corporate rivalry meets orbital mechanics—spectacular, expensive, and ultimately educational about the challenges of space-based chemistry.
Next month I’ll be back on ABC Radio Hobart and ABC Northern Tasmania with Lucie for more space news.
View the archive of Space News.