Orbiting Gourmet Style

The meal was shared by the six people onboard the station on April 12, the anniversary of the first human trip into orbit--made by Yuri Gagarin in 1961. The crew gathered in the Russian Service module, which is the social center of the complex. And as the diners orbited the Earth at 17,000 miles an hour, they spent a hour or more enjoying the duck pâté and roast quail, as well as rice pudding and apple fondant for dessert. Mr. Simonyi described it as a "festive" occasion.

So much for freeze-dried ice cream, which we kids deemed a treat in the 70's when we could lay our hands on it. Here's the whole story.