Comments on: The Zero-Gravity Coffee Maker: Space Station Luxury or Necessity?

By: Heartburn Home Remedy

Heartburn Home Remedy — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:37:17 +0000

Not that I'm impressed a lot, but this is more than I expected when I stumpled upon a link on Delicious telling that the info here is quite decent. Thanks.

By: Chuck Lam

Chuck Lam — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:31:53 +0000

To Jose`, You are absolutely correct! The two students deserve accolades for their efforts. My concern is the ultimate cost to the taxpayers once the feds get involved for further development. i see millions going out the window.

By: Jose

Jose — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:34:46 +0000

People… These are Two students. The amount of money that has been invested in this project is almost none. I come from the same Institute, and people in this place receive almost nothing for investigation. I am guessing (in a very certain way) that the time they invested came from their spare time, and the money they spent, came from their wallet. Costa Rica can't compete with MIT's or GATech's grant$.

These two students deserve admiration for their effort.

By: Bridh Hancock

Bridh Hancock — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 04:44:55 +0000

Coffee! I never thort it was not available nor that it was happily drinkable. What else needs to be fixed properly for space life to go well? That is a serious question. The answers might well translate well for Earthian life, too. When I read that about coffee, I realised that we need our women engineers desparately!

By: Flaming Pope

Flaming Pope — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:20:15 +0000

Not a fan of coffee, caffeine packets anyone?

By: rob b

rob b — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 08:39:05 +0000

@ John Wilke

FACT If I spent more than a week in a tin can with a bunch of other people with no coffee I would be forced to drink their blood. You have to remember that life in a tin can surrounded by a vacuum is really stressful. You might be able to survive on just water but for a crew to function well they need to be mentally health to.

By: John Wilke

John Wilke — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 23:34:11 +0000

FACT – it costs about $10,000 per lb. to put something in space. FACT – water weighs about 8.3# per gallon. FACT – that translates into more than we can afford for a stupid cup of coffee. Hydration is important. Coffee is not. I'm tired of paying the bills for this sort of thing….

By: Mike Cooper

Mike Cooper — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:41:17 +0000

I would agree that this is a complete waste of tax payer money for NASA.

On the other hand, I personally wouldn't consider any of the offers of the fledgling space tourist companies if they didn't at least include a decent continental breakfast for my million-dollar+ entry fees! I would hope that Bigelow Aerospace, builders of the soon-to-be-launched inflatable space hotel, has already bookmarked this article.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:35:39 +0000

Addition…

Seems to me, that a senseo machine could easily be modified to be used in space. True , there'd still be a mould hazard because of the spent pads, but it would still be a small device, and it's very close to freshly ground coffee.

And to tackle that mould hazard, the spent pads (still moist) could be infused with a drop of disinfectant before discarded.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:28:08 +0000

"Coffee is not a good idea in space, it would raise the blood pressure of the astronauts" blah blah

"This is a horrible idea. Costs….Astronauts should learn to drink instant and like it.' *YAWN*

Seriously, you're not serious are you?

If we're destined to be a space faring race in the future, they'd better come up with good ways of making GOOD coffee in space NOW, or no one will want to go anyways!

By: barakn

barakn — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:01:22 +0000

This is a horrible idea. Costs vary by launch method, but it typically costs $10,000 PER POUND to lift stuff into LEO. With Americans consuming on average 9 pounds of coffee per year per capita, it would cost half a million dollars a year to supply a space station crew of 6 with coffee beans. And let's not forget that they store their garbage for long periods of time before discarding it – wet, used coffee grounds would be a mold hazard. Astronauts should learn to drink instant and like it.

By: gnabgib

gnabgib — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 03:12:43 +0000

Why cant they use the packets of coffee premeasured in the filter packets?

By: quantum_flux

quantum_flux — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 19:08:25 +0000

Coffee is not a good idea in space, it would raise the blood pressure of the astronauts, not something good at the top of a roller coaster or when spinning due to excessive angular momentum.

By: Rusty

Rusty — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:59:14 +0000

thinking about it, where's the problem? we've already got those nice coffee pods for holding grinds. Personally I use a french press so leaving the grinds with the brew (in the pod) makes for good coffee. That way you just need some sort of reliable space-mug. I think a simple bladder the draws in coffee by evacuating the the space on the non-coffee side of the badder. Then you can draw it back out like any old pouch.

if it's the problem of moving hot water, then I guess I don't understand the limitation of plumbing in space.

By: Rusty

Rusty — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:45:48 +0000

This is absolutely critical, not only that, it highlights the #1 problem with the space program, we send up these lofty scientists when what we really need is to lead them with engineers. I mean real ones, not the wanna-be-nerds who can't think outside of a book. Someone who can't stand to see something not work or inefficient (and in this case un-caffeinated). We need to be focusing on doing practical things in space, before we worry about research.

By: Steven

Steven — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:30:53 +0000

James Carlson,

I've not heard the figure 180 billion light years across before, but if the universe is bigger than 13 billion light years across it's due to inflation in the early universe.

By: ANDREW OLIVER SATCHELL

ANDREW OLIVER SATCHELL — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:50:13 +0000

I DRINK LATTE MACCIATO

By: Sili

Sili — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:01:31 +0000

Well, if only they'd accept commercial sponsorship on flight, it wouldn't be that hard to get made and get up there.

Sounds a bit like the million-dollar space-pen, though (yes, I know it's not true). Why not just use a piston coffee maker to get rid of the grounds?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cafetière

By: Chuck R.

Chuck R. — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:47:36 +0000

THE COFFEE IS LIFE!

By: J. Mattair

J. Mattair — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:51:06 +0000

^^^ Ask Einstien.

By: James Carlson

James Carlson — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:28:48 +0000

Small things for small minds. Just think of all
the miss guidance that is put out daily. Think
about it . They tell you that the universe is about 13 billion years old, but the universe
has expanded over 180 billion light years
across. How can this be.

By: Eric Near Buffalo

Eric Near Buffalo — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:13:47 +0000

~~rob b Says:
October 17th, 2008 at 2:06 am
How long before Star bucks opens three stations in the same orbit.~~

Pssh…there'll be two on ISS helping to make up those 3.

By: Steven

Steven — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:16:14 +0000

Well done to those two Costa Rican Students.

By: Jim Walczak

Jim Walczak — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:20:03 +0000

As I'm sitting here sucking down my second cup of the day, the only thing I can really think of in response to this is "make mine a French Vanilla Cappuccino".

Seriously, I have to agree with the general consensus that this is a very good idea indeed. Astronauts often require critical thinking and fast reflexes just to stay alive up there and in my mind, coffee has always been a part of that. Of course as this article mentions, they do already have "coffee"…the issue is "good" coffee. I mean honestly…can you imaging what our poor pioneering astronauts have had to put up with so far? I have this mental vision of some little silver pouch that you nuke for 20 seconds and then stick a straw into the side (like a juice pouch) and suck this thick, black goo-like substance out of that "almost…but not quite…tastes entirely unlike coffee". Blechhh!

We could all be drinking that sludge we used to drink back in college to get us through finals, but we drink "good" coffee because there's so much more to the coffee experience beyond simply a "Jolt" of caffeine….the taste, the aroma, the anticipation of that first cup as it's brewing…it's all part of how so many people around this little blue world of ours actually start their day! These folks that are paving the way for our future -deserve- a good cup of coffee to start their days in space!

I say "Bravo!" to this one.

By: neil

neil — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:17:47 +0000

a coffee maker and a working toilet go hand in hand. procede with caution