Soy sauce going to space, thanks Houston food company

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- To make it into space, it takes years of study and lots of training. But there are no astronauts at Little's Soya's company headquarters.

"It's actually quite unbelievable," says Gary Murphy, the founder & CEO of the soy sauce company.

About two years ago, Murphy got a call from NASA looking for single-serving soy sauce packets that wouldn't spill or squirt in space. After more than a year of testing, the fish-shaped containers of soy sauce with a cap finally passed NASA's rigorous testing.

"It doesn't leak," Murphy said. "This is what the astronauts like about it."

The soy sauce is now part of the cargo on the Ariane 5 rocket, set to launch next week by the European Space Agency to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.

"Our soy sauce is going into space. I've thought about it many times, I think it will be super exciting. And uh, can't wait," said Murphy.

His friends in the food business are also excited.

"He was like Little Soya's going to space, and I was like, 'Gary's going to space?'" recalled Brandon Silva, the sous chef at Holley's Restaurant in Midtown. "'No, the product's going to space,' and I was like, 'Wow, that's awesome.' Fantastic venture for him."

To celebrate, Little Soya is hosting a launch party at Hughes Hanger tonight at 7pm. It's free and open to the public.

The soy sauce is for sale at World Market, Phoenicia and online at Amazon.com.