---
title: "Brands Keep Sending Their Pointless Swag to the Space Station"
description: "We're littering an already-crowded space station environment and filling up valuable launch manifests with PR stunts. Knock it off, brands."
date: "2019-11-05"
modified: "2019-11-05"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/brands-pointless-swag-space-station"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
  - "International Space Station"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "international space station"
  - "iss"
  - "space"
  - "space junk"
  - "space station"
---

# Brands Keep Sending Their Pointless Swag to the Space Station

![We're littering an already-crowded space station environment and filling up valuable launch manifests with PR stunts. Knock it off, brands.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/brands-pointless-swag-space-station.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

For almost 20 years, the International Space Station has been conducting invaluable research in countless scientific fields, from the [effects of microgravity on the human body](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-brain-body-medicine-shrink>) to [monitoring water quality](<https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/benefits/HREP_HICO.html>) from space.

But an increasing number of corporations are sending their products to the cramped confines of the space research lab, often with inconsequential or pointless goals, in an apparent bid for friendly PR.

It all begs the question: don't we already have [enough space junk](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/canada-help-cleaning-space-junk>) orbiting our planet?

NASA has itself to blame. In June, the space agency [announced](<https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-is-opening-the-space-station-to-tourists>) that it will officially allow regular citizens to board the Space Station, alongside commercial and marketing activities.

In the latest attempt, Adidas [sent a soccer ball ](<https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/05/business/adidas-iss-scn-trnd/index.html>) to the ISS, ostensibly to test how air resistance affects their spin. In future ISS-based experiments, Adidas says it wants to find ways to improve the cushioning of its footwear — truly the pinnacle of space science.

Adidas isn't the only brand slinging their wares to the space station. On Monday, Futurism [reported](<https://futurism.com/startup-aging-red-wine-in-space>) on a startup that plans to age red wine on the ISS — and no, the astronauts won't even get to crack a bottle.

Even more startups are sending their crap into space. An outfit called [Space Roasters](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-roasters>) even claims it's working on specially designed pods that'll roast coffee beans as they re-enter Earth's atmosphere.

Basically, we're littering an already-crowded space environment and filling up valuable launch manifests with PR stunts. Knock it off, brands.

**READ MORE:** [Adidas is partnering with the International Space Station to test products in space](<https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/05/business/adidas-iss-scn-trnd/index.html>) \[*CNN Business*\]

**More on ISS experiments:** *[This Startup Is Aging Red Wine on the International Space Station](<https://futurism.com/startup-aging-red-wine-in-space>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)