The reach of the Tang brand is truly impressive. Its powdered products are sold in more than 35 countries, offering an economical alternative to traditional drinks — whatever your opinion on their taste. When you dig into Tang's origins, you'll often come across references to NASA, suggesting the agency invented it for its space missions. Actually, Tang hit the market before NASA even existed, but it certainly helped boost the drink's popularity...
The Tang and NASA Myth
NASA has been through all sorts of situations since its birth. Personally, I remember one of the most expensive code errors in history, which led to the destruction of the Mariner 1 probe. Then there are more recent cases like the detection and recovery of the IMAGE satellite, which it had declared lost 12 years earlier. But NASA carries a certain legendary profile, and in its six decades of existence it has been credited with all kinds of creations and developments... which were not always true.
One of the most striking examples involves neither electronics, nor computing, nor advanced construction methods. It's about the instant drink Tang, the same one you can (most likely) find at the supermarket today. How did it become a “creation” of NASA?
Tang was developed by chemist William A. Mitchell for General Foods Corporation (now Mondelēz International) in 1957, but it hit the shelves with force two years later. The public initially received the powder with some resistance. However, everything changed with the appearance of an unexpected client: NASA.
In the midst of the space race, Tang's popularity exploded when it became known that astronaut John Glenn aboard Friendship 7 (the first American to orbit Earth) had prepared and drunk the juice. Tang's convenience and ease of use spread beyond the Mercury program (whose members had to solve all kinds of problems, as explained here), and it also found its place among the astronauts of the Gemini and Apollo programs.
As expected, Tang squeezed that relationship to the max (“If you drink Tang, you could be an astronaut!”), offering 400-gram jars for 59 cents (about $5 adjusted for inflation).
Tang's current situation reveals that its largest markets are Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia. The powder experiences a consumption peak during Ramadan, and it represents just over half of Tang's annual sales in the Middle East.
Now... what did the astronauts think of Tang? The only one who ever settled that doubt was Buzz Aldrin, in 2013. His verdict? “Tang stinks”. The $900 million sold in 2016 suggest otherwise, but comments are open.
