Cookies in Space

🍪 Looking for the official DoubleTree Cookie recipe? You're in luck, it was recently released.

Shawn
McAteer

Senior Vice President and Global Head,
DoubleTree by Hilton

Mary
Murphy

Senior Internal Payloads Manager, Nanoracks

Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum

Co-Founders and Co-Chefs, Zero G Kitchen

How did DoubleTree by Hilton become involved with baking food in outer space?

It all started with a tweet from DoubleTree by Hilton to Elon Musk in February 2018, just after SpaceX launched a Tesla Roadster into space. DoubleTree by Hilton asked if Spaceman, the spacesuit-wearing mannequin “driving” the car, wanted a signature, warm DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie for his trip.

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Mission: Cookie is a space-inspired recipe book filled with more than 30 creative recipes from DoubleTree by Hilton hotels around the world that incorporate the brand’s beloved chocolate chip cookie.

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About Zero G Kitchen

Based in New York City, Zero G Kitchen was founded with a goal of building a kitchen in space, piece-by-piece, and offering its use to a variety of food researchers, educators and companies with an interest in the future of food and household appliances in space. Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum, Zero G Kitchen is leading the way with its first appliance: a small space oven.

About the Space Oven

  • Description – The Zero G Kitchen Space Oven is a cylindrical-shaped insulated container designed to hold and bake sealed food samples in the microgravity environment of the ISS. The oven allows food samples to be placed in a tray where they are held steady inside the oven while baking occurs. A cooling rack is also integrated into the outside of the oven.
  • The insulation and venting mechanisms allow the oven to operate safety in the controlled environment of the ISS. The oven passed all of NASA’s safety reviews prior to flight.
  • Where it was built – At Nanoracks’ facility in Texas, in collaboration with Zero G Kitchen
  • Where it was installed – In Nanoracks’ Frame 3, located in the U.S. Destiny module of the ISS
  • Launch date, time and location – 9:59 a.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility
  • Oven interior dimensions – 4.2” X 8.8” length, for a total interior volume of 122 in^3 (approximately 2U)
  • Heating method – Electric coils, powered by electricity drawn from the ISS’s internal power system
  • Food packaging – Sealed silicone pouches, allowing a clear view of the contents while keeping crumbs from affecting the space station environment
  • Cooking options – Custom trays to allow baking, grilling, pan cook and griddle modes of cooking in a microgravity environment
  • Maximum internal temperature – 325 degrees F / 162 degrees C

About Nanoracks

Nanoracks LLC, an XO Markets company, is the world’s first commercial space station company with an existing customer base. Nanoracks believes commercial space utilization will enable innovation through in-space manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, fiber optics – and more, allow for transformational Earth observation, and make space a key player in finding the solution to Earth’s problems. 

Today, the company offers low-cost, high-quality solutions to the most pressing needs for satellite deployment, basic and educational research, and more –in over 30 nations worldwide. Since 2009, Texas-based Nanoracks has truly created new markets and ushered in a new era of in-space-services, dedicated to making space just another place to do business.

In 2017, the Company announced their long-term plans via the Nanoracks Space Outpost Program. This program is dedicated to the repurposing of the upper stages of launch vehicles in-space and converting these structures into commercial habitats, both humanly and robotically tended, throughout the solar system. 

XO Markets, the world’s first commercial space holding company, includes Nanoracks, DreamUp, Nanoracks Space Outpost Europe, Nanoracks UAE, and more.

About the International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. The ISS is the largest human-made body in low Earth orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth. It consists of pressurized habitation modules, structural trusses, solar arrays, radiators, docking ports, experiment bays and robotic arms. 

The ISS’ first component launched into orbit in 1998, with the first long-term residents arriving in Nov. 2000, and it has been inhabited continuously since that date. The station is expected to operate until 2030. 

The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields. The station is suited for the testing of spacecraft systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon and Mars. The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 205 and 270 miles. It circles the Earth in roughly 92 minutes and completes 15.5 orbits per day. 

The ISS program is a joint project between five participating space agencies: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (funded by the Russian Federation), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), European Space Agency (ESA), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The ownership and use of the space station are established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station is divided into two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital Segment (USOS), which is shared by many nations.

About Scholastic

Scholastic was founded in 1920 as a single classroom magazine. Today, Scholastic books and educational materials are in tens of thousands of schools and tens of millions of homes worldwide, helping to Open a World of Possible for children across the globe.

Scholastic’s mission is to encourage the intellectual and personal growth of all children, beginning with literacy.

More details about Scholastic:

  • The world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books with $1.6 billion in annual revenue
  • Scholastic.com is the No. 1 website for U.S. elementary school teachers
  • A leader in comprehensive education solutions
  • A global reach, employing more than 8,400 employees and serving customers in more than 165 countries in 45 languages

About DoubleTree by Hilton

DoubleTree by Hilton is a fast-growing, global portfolio of over 680 hotels with more than 155,000 rooms across 56 countries and territories. For more than 55 years, DoubleTree by Hilton has continued to be a symbol of comfort for business and leisure travelers around the world, from welcoming guests with its signature, warm DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie, to serving the local community. DoubleTree by Hilton offers contemporary accommodations and amenities, including unique food and beverage experiences, state-of-the-art fitness offerings and meetings and events spaces. Experience a positive stay at DoubleTree by Hilton by booking at doubletree.com or through the industry-leading Hilton Honors app. Hilton Honors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels have access to instant benefits. Learn more about DoubleTree by Hilton at stories.hilton.com/doubletree, and follow the brand on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Â