Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
RAF Harrington
RAF Harrington
The Beaux-arts interior with Pool layout still visible.
Écomusée du fier monde
Village du Livre de Fontenoy-la-Joûte
Obelisk of Senusret I.
Obelisk of Senusret I
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è pasta... E pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Tripe is fried to a crisp.
L’Osteria della Trippa
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
People paddling in their wooden canoes on one of the lakes near the Allagash Waterway in the north woods in Maine
The Allagash Abductions: This State Park’s Most Famous Visitors ... Are Aliens?
about 6 hours ago
The rocky Revere Beach coast in Revere, Massachusetts, just outside Boston.
Which Places With Bad Raps Are Actually Worth Visiting?
1 day ago
A dugong displays the telltale “smile.”
Saving the Sea Cows of Vanuatu
1 day ago
The first photo of the “woolly devil” made a stir among botanists when Deb Manley uploaded it to iNaturalist in March 2024.
How the Woolly Devil, Member of a New Plant Genus, Was Discovered on a Hike in Big Bend
2 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California Hawthorne SpaceX Space Cheese
Gastro Obscura

SpaceX Space Cheese

The first privately-owned space capsule to orbit and land carried a secret payload: a wheel of Le Brouère.

Hawthorne, California

Added By
Rachel Rummel
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
The cover for the cheese featured the movie poster for Top Secret.   Chris Thompson/SpaceX
The cover for the cheese featured the movie poster for Top Secret.   Chris Thompson/SpaceX
The cheese is on display at SpaceX headquarters.   Juan Kulichevsky
The cheese launched into space was a wheel of Le Brouère, much like this one.   Banque de photographie Ermitage
The dragon, following a triumphant return from orbit.   SpaceX
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Artisans craft small batches of Le Brouère using milk from grass-fed cows, molded in patterned wood. It tastes a bit like Gruyère, and makes a splendid accompaniment to bread, nuts, and crisp fruit. According to a manufacturer, Le Brouère makes a "dynamic and compelling" grilled cheese. SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk decided it was also well-suited for launching into orbit. 

In 2010, the rocket venture formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. announced a "secret payload" aboard the maiden flight of their Dragon spacecraft. Fearing the secret cheese would distract press from the actual point of the mission, Musk refrained from revealing anything about it until the project was completed. 

The Dragon's mission marked the first time a space capsule developed by a private company was launched into orbit and successfully returned to Earth. In a feat previously accomplished by only six government space agencies, the cone-shaped capsule reentered the atmosphere and emerged from its Pacific Ocean splashdown intact. Only then did Musk reveal that a wheel of Le Brouère had hitched a ride, circling Earth twice on its journey. 

SpaceX said the move was inspired by a famous skit from the British comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus, in which actor John Cleese enters a cheese shop and requests dozens of oddly-named cheeses. He then concludes that the shop—much like outer space—doesn't have any cheese.

In another instance of pop culture coinciding with the historic achievement, the bolted cover of the metal cylinder used to transport the cheese was decorated with the poster from the 1984 movie Top Secret, which happened to feature a cow wearing galoshes.

Related Tags

Cheese Space Space Exploration Comedy History

Know Before You Go

The wheel is now displayed at the company's headquarters, where admitted guests and staff can marvel at an earthly pleasure that once left Earth. The building is not open to the public, so you must know a SpaceX employee to visit the out-of-this-world cheese.

Community Contributors

Added By

rachelrummel

Published

June 12, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.peacockcheese.com/catalog/cheese/french-albagnac-by-boat/le-brouere
  • https://www.grunge.com/117800/untold-truth-spacex/?utm_campaign=clip
  • https://www.space.com/10459-wheel-cheese-launched-space-private-spacecraft.html
  • http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-121010a.html
  • https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/12/spacexs-secret-payload.html
  • https://books.google.com/books?id=TmRuoa40mQgC&pg=PT115&lpg=PT115&dq=Le+Brouere&source=bl&ots=Zu2QRfWtwj&sig=ACfU3U18YS13ZaR2yCDKeQHafcWxnTd9Zw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj2kJPDtOTiAhXuhOAKHccdBR8Q6AEwDXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Le%20Brouere&f=false
SpaceX Space Cheese
Rocket Road
Hawthorne, California
United States
33.921314, -118.326878
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

The Beach Boys Childhood Home

Hawthorne, California

miles away

Gardena Cinema

Gardena, California

miles away

Randy's Donuts

Inglewood, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Hawthorne

Hawthorne

California

Places 2

Nearby Places

The Beach Boys Childhood Home

Hawthorne, California

miles away

Gardena Cinema

Gardena, California

miles away

Randy's Donuts

Inglewood, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Hawthorne

Hawthorne

California

Places 2

Related Stories and Lists

How Cold War Spying From Space Connected the Galaxy to Utah

space exploration

By Danny Robb

10 Places That Bring Space Down to Earth

List

By Roxanne Hoorn

17 Places Every Cheese Lover Should Visit Before They Die

List

By Sam O'Brien

12 Places to Get Close to Space Right Here on Earth

List

By Jonathan Carey

Related Places

  • A larger view of the Myrtle Beach Convention Center plaza, where you’ll find the moon boot imprints of astronaut Charles Duke. The Apollo 16 Lunar Modular pilot left a photo of himself and his family on the moon before heading back to earth. It’s still there today.

    Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

    Apollo Moonprints in Cement

    The imprints of astronaut Charles Duke’s moon boots live on at Myrtle Beach’s official South Carolina Hall of Fame.

  • The rocket replica.

    Concord, New Hampshire

    Redstone Rocket Replica

    The 92-foot-tall structure is based on the aircraft that carried the first Americans into space.

  • The Enterprise Bar goes hard on retro camp.

    Gila Bend, Arizona

    Space Age Lodge and Restaurant

    A lingering bit of Space Race nostalgia lies in the middle of the desert.

  • Green Cove Springs, Florida

    Space Shuttle Fuel Tank

    How did a 154-foot-long piece of spacecraft wind up abandoned along the side of a Florida road?

  • Replica

    Fresnedillas de la Oliva, Spain

    Museo Lunar

    The small Spanish town that played an important role in a human's first steps on the moon.

  • Pereiaslav, Ukraine

    Museum of Space Exploration

    A century-old church is now a space museum with a treasure trove of Soviet space items.

  • Planetary Radio Emissions Discovery Site

    Poolesville, Maryland

    Planetary Radio Emissions Discovery Site

    Using a massive antenna made up of five miles of wire, two scientists tuned into organic radio waves from the planet Jupiter.

  • The Challenger Memorial at its prior home along Memorial Park. A block of South African granite serves as the surface for the illustration of The Challenger, while the other lists the names of the astronauts who perished in the explosion.

    Montpelier, Vermont

    Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial

    A lonely memorial to the Challenger Space Shuttle, honoring the astronauts who died in 1986.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.