CAN YOU STILL BUY TANG

We've been geeking out about space travel recently. First, this dad blogger participated in a virtual movie watching party on Twitter to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film APOLLO 13 live chatting with Director Ron Howard and astronaut Scott Kelly. Next my son and I recorded a video of us interviewing former astronaut Mike Massimino for the blog about his experiences in space and the historic Space X rocket launch that is taking place on Wednesday, May 27. Finally, we are going to be watching on the Discovery Channel this week when for the first time since the space shuttles were retired NASA launches astronauts from American soil into outer space.

While all this is going on, I wondered if the astronauts going up into space this week will be taking Tang along with them on their trip. This flavored drink created by mixing an orange tasting powder with water was made famous by astronauts using it from the early days of space travel through the space shuttle era. Advertisements for Tang highlighting this space connection were prominently featured during my childhood in the 1970s-80s among the commercials aired with Saturday morning cartoons.

While Tang was included on the menu for the first astronauts during their star treks, it wasn't actually developed specifically for use in space. It was actually created by William A. Mitchell, who also invented Pop Rocks candy and Cool Whip desert topping, for General Foods Corporation as an alternative to fresh juice and frozen concentrates. The product caught the attention of NASA who included it in eating experiments they conducted with Mercury astronaut John Glenn while he was orbiting the Earth.

Tang took off from there being a part of astronauts diets during space missions for decades including the Apollo missions to the moon. Mike Massimino mentioned to us he drank Tang during his space shuttle missions. Generations of kids also drank Tang they had parents pick up from grocery store shelves so they could feel like astronauts themselves.



Yet I can't remember the last time a Tang advertisement caught my eye, saw a package of the stuff on a store shelf, or witnessed someone taking a sip of this orange flavored drink. Just as space travel has slipped from the public eye since the shuttle fleet was retired in 2011 so has Tang diminished from popular culture. Can you even buy Tang anymore?

The answer is YES you can! The product is now produced by Mondelēz International, a Chicago-based corporation that is one of the largest snack making companies in the world. In fact, they sell almost a billion dollars worth of Tang every year. Tang orange flavored breakfast beverage is currently sold in 35 countries and is especially popular in Argentina, China and the Middle East. And if you want to bring some home to drink here in the United States, Tang is available from Walmart.

To get in an astronaut state of mind and do something out of the ordinary, we picked up some Tang from Walmart to drink while watching the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in their Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. Will be giving a Tang toast to these astronauts, all the brave men and women who proceeded them, and all those still to come.