Scottish and Japanese engineers plan to age whisky in orbit from 2028
Engineers at the University of Glasgow and in Japan plan to send a cubesat with whisky samples on a five-year orbital mission from 2028, to test whether space speeds up maturation.
1 / 2
The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Engineers in Scotland and Japan plan to put Scotch on a rocket in 2028, sending a satellite with samples of whisky and its base ingredients on a five-year mission orbiting the Earth. Evening StandardN “Engineers in Scotland and Japan are planning to put Scotch on a rocket in 2028, sending a satellite containing samples of whisky and its base ingredients on a five-year mission to orbit the Earth.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ GB NewsR “sending a satellite containing samples of whisky and its base ingredients on a five-year mission orbiting the Earth” Read at GB News ↗ Mixed · 2The project, nicknamed "Space Puffin", would launch the cubesat on a SpaceX supply mission to the International Space Station, then deploy it into orbit from the station's Japanese module. Evening StandardN “is to launch the cubesat in 2028 on a SpaceX supply mission to the International Space Station, before deploying it into orbit from the Japanese module of the space station.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ GB NewsR “nicknamed "Space Puffin"” Read at GB News ↗ Mixed · 2Dr Gilles Bailet of the University of Glasgow said the team hopes frequent swings between extreme heat and cold, which he put at roughly minus 150 to 200 degrees as the satellite circles the Earth every 90 minutes, will make the wood "breathe" faster and speed up maturation. Evening StandardN “the cycles could happen much faster in space – where temperatures can quickly vary between minus 150 degrees to 200 degrees.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ GB NewsR “"We build our spacecraft to be able to get an environment which is better for the whisky, but this wood will breathe faster than on Earth.” Read at GB News ↗
Mixed · 2The cubesat will carry no full cask; the liquid samples will be held with small wood chips to mimic cask ageing, and the craft will send data on the whisky's colour and chemical composition to scientists on the ground. Evening StandardN “The cubesat will not have a full whisky cask on board. However the liquid samples will be contained by small wood chips to mimic the cask aging process on Earth.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ GB NewsR “The cubesat will feedback data such as the whisky's colour and chemical composition back to the team on Earth.” Read at GB News ↗ Mixed · 2The system will also demonstrate how ethanol can be extracted in orbit, and the Evening Standard says the research may give insight into orbital factories that could develop hard-to-make medicine molecules. Evening StandardN “The team’s system will demonstrate how ethanol, which plays a role in the production of many drugs, can be extracted in orbit.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ GB NewsR “The team's system will demonstrate how ethanol can be extracted in orbit.” Read at GB News ↗ Mixed · 2The cubesat will not be recovered at the end of its mission, so the whisky will not be tasted, but Bailet said he wants to scale up and fly a full whisky-making system with a cask if investors collaborate, and called it "totally in the realm of possible" to bring back about a litre within three to five years. Evening StandardN “While the cubesat will not be recovered at the end of its five-year mission, Dr Bailet said he is keen to scale up whisky maturation in space” Read at Evening Standard ↗ GB NewsR “"But it's totally in the realm of possible to bring back something like a litre of whisky within the next three to five years."” Read at GB News ↗
Mixed · 2Distilleries in Scotland and Japan are expected to contribute the whisky, though none has been chosen yet; students travelled from Scotland to Japan to help co-design the cubesat. Evening StandardN “Different distilleries in Scotland and Japan are expected to contribute the whisky, though these have not been chosen yet.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ GB NewsR “students had travelled to Japan to help develop the cubesat” Read at GB News ↗ Centre · 1The Evening Standard reports that the initial visit to Japan was funded by a grant from distillery-design consultancy Allen Associates, whose lead process design engineer Geoff Nisbet said the firm was "delighted to support" the project. Evening StandardN “The initial visit to Japan is the result of a grant from distillery-design consultancy Allen Associates.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Mixed · 2Whisky has previously gone into space for a flavour experiment, but it stayed inside the temperature-controlled International Space Station; Bailet said whisky is a well-understood model for studying chemical and biological processes in microgravity. Evening StandardN “While whisky has previously been into space as part of an experiment to understand flavour, it did not leave the temperature-controlled confines of the International Space Station.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ GB NewsR “"Whisky gives us a very recognisable, very well-understood model for studying and monitoring biological and chemical processes in microgravity."” Read at GB News ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Science-feature report built on the Press Association interview with Dr Bailet, with extra detail on funding, prices and medical applications.
- Emphasis
- Scientific rationale, orbital factories for medicines, collectors' prices, and the Allen Associates grant.
- Leaves out or plays down
- None significant.
- Charged language
- “astronomical prices”
- For example
-
“While such whisky would command astronomical prices due to the cost of launching and recovering the liquid” — Evening Standard
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Shorter, quote-led version of the same story, with 'very bold' flavours in the headline.
- Emphasis
- The novelty of space-aged Scotch and Bailet's flavour expectations; adds that the whisky 'will not be tested'.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Leaves out the Allen Associates grant, the medicine/orbital-factory angle, price comparisons, and the earlier ISS flavour experiment.
- Charged language
- “very bold”
What every side reports
- A cubesat with whisky samples is planned for a 2028 launch on a SpaceX supply mission to the ISS, then orbit for five years.
- The project is nicknamed Space Puffin and led by Dr Gilles Bailet of the University of Glasgow with Japanese partners.
- The cubesat will not be recovered and carries wood chips rather than a full cask.
Where accounts differ
-
Whether the whisky is 'distilled' or only aged in space
- Centre
- Opens with distilling but describes the experiment as measuring ageing and extracting ethanol in orbit.
- Right
- Says whisky will be 'distilled in space', and its picture captions mention distilling and a Starship launch, while the text describes a SpaceX ISS supply mission.
Space-aged whisky project topic
Project lead Dr Gilles Bailet presents it as a way to test whether space accelerates whisky maturation and as a model for chemistry in microgravity, with ambitions to return a litre of whisky.
““We want to see what the effect of a space environment is on the aging of the whisky.”” — Evening Standard
“"We are really keen to be able to actually fly a full whisky-making system, with a full cask, if we're able to collaborate with investors or other people interested about it.” — GB News
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre1 article
-
Whisky to be aged in space for first time in university satellite project
Neutral Detailed, mostly Press Association-based explainer covering science, funding and potential uses.
Right1 article
-
GB NewsR ·
Whisky to be aged in space for first time in 'very bold' new experiment
Neutral Condensed, upbeat version stressing novelty and 'very bold' flavours.
- 5 Oct 02:45 First Evening StandardN Whisky to be aged in space for first time in university satellite project
- 5 Oct 05:35 +2h 49m GB NewsR Whisky to be aged in space for first time in 'very bold' new experiment
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.