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Try the on-orbit coffee cup that can show how Pettit’s innovative design can change a simple coffee mug into an exceptional piece. This inventive coffee cup concept came to Donald Pettit’s mind, who is an astronaut, during the mission STS-126. Instead of using a straw to drink his morning coffee inside a heated aluminum bag, Donald created a cup that could hold liquid in zero gravitation. Travis Baldwin tried to offer his service as a designer to assist him in developing his idea into a real product.
Designer : Travis Baldwin
Should be relatively easy to fab a test article and test it on an upcoming ZeroG flight (http://www.gozerog.com/). I’m planning to fly on them again and do some high-speed liquid videography, and this might dovetail nicely into that plan.
One issue I see is with the chamfers; they’d be hard to clean.
I recognized that shape immediately!
Check out a video of this principle in space:
http://philharnish.tumblr.com/post/61782713/astronauts-unhappy-drinking-from-bags-find-a
Very nice work Travis!!
As for cleaning,, hmm, that’s a toughie.
Also I was wondering about a concentric spiral with a straw sized central dot for “filling” rather than just the round so that it could be center filled then flushed with water in the center. Also, mounting a magnet in the base (just a little one) you could easily secure it to a bulkhead to keep a cup with you (or velcro).
Great bit!
i hope coffee cups wont look like that in the future
This is important work. Considering how much we waste on the space program, we don’t want sleepy astronauts. Coffee has gotten much better but most coffee cups are still of archaic design. Drinking coffee, or anything for that matter, through a straw does not give the full sensory experience, as odor vapors entering through the nostrils are an important component of flavor.
Hi Travis,
Could you tell me if you’re selling this cup ?
Thanks & regards