Rocket-Launched Noodles to Cook on Re-Entry Heat

[Buster's Uncle]

Rocket-Launched Noodles to Cook on Re-Entry Heat
Wall Street Journal
By Jun Hongo  Sep 10, 2014 3:14 pm JST



Will Miojo noodles get a liftoff like this when they head into space next year to mark the 50th anniversary of the brand in Brazil? — Associated Press



A rocket-launched serving of Japanese noodles popular in Brazil will literally have a taste that is out of this world.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Miojo ramen noodles’ presence in the Brazilian market with a blast, a Japanese joint venture that sells them will launch an instant meal into space next year. The noodles will then be jettisoned for boiling in the heat of re-entry.

“For the first time in history, we will cook food in the mesosphere,” Nissin Ajinomoto Alimentos Ltd. said on its official Facebook account, describing its ambitious “Mission Miojo.”

A video clip posted on the project’s website explains that U.S. aerospace company Interorbital Systems Co. is in charge of creating and launching the rocket from the Mojave desert in California. Four steering rockets and one main engine will work together to take the rocket to an altitude of 310 kilometers, one of the engineers says in the clip.

An aluminum capsule containing the uncooked noodles and water, will then be ejected with a parachute and traced using a recovery system. The container will also use soft-landing technology, the company said.

“The technology created for the project will be applied directly to Interobital’s future unmanned and manned reentry spacecraft development,” Interorbital Systems said on its website.

Nissin Ajinomoto Alimentos is a joint venture between Japan’s largest seasoning maker Ajinomoto Co. and instant noodle pioneer.

A spokesman at Nissin Foods in Tokyo confirmed that the rocket ramen launch is an ongoing project, but said the company isn’t ready to reveal more details. Technical issues with the rocket are currently being looked into, the spokesman said.

Ramen noodles aren’t the only commercial food product set to go beyond the stratosphere next year. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. is scheduled to send a special can of its Pocari Sweat sports drink to the moon in October 2015.

Missão Miojo - Episódio 1

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2014/09/10/rocket-launched-noodles-to-cook-on-re-entry-heat/?mod=yahoo_hs