My, How things have changed!
Posted on 07/19/2009 11:52:10 AM PDT by TaxPayer2000
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station used a pair of robot arms to install a pallet of equipment on Sunday, but when break-time came they may have found long lines at the bathrooms.
With a record 13 people aboard the station, the main toilet broke down, sending astronauts scrambling to the use backup commodes on the Russian side of the station and aboard the visiting U.S. shuttle Endeavour.
"Put an 'Out-of-Service' note on the WHC (waste and hygiene compartment)," Mission Control's Hal Getselman told a crewmember after a fruitless attempt at repairs.
The commode, which is connected to the station's wastewater-recycling system, had been the crew's main bathroom. NASA was limiting shuttle toilet use because it cannot dump the wastewater overboard, as is customary during flight.
Wastewater dumps could contaminate the station's newly installed platform for science experiments.
The porch-like facility was mounted on the front of the station's Kibo laboratory during a spacewalk Saturday. It will be used to hold experiments that need to be exposed to the open environment of space.
"For right now, having all (shuttle crewmembers) using the shuttle toilet is not going to be an issue," station flight director Brian Smith said.
If the toilet cannot be repaired within about six days, it could become a more serious matter, Smith added. "We don't yet know the extent of the problem," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Stuff is really going to hit the fan now.
The irony that, surrounded by all the technology necessary to launch and sustain man outside of the earth’s atmosphere, one of the most difficult feats is taking care of such a basic bodily need, never ceases to amuse me.
**Stuff is really going to hit the fan now.**
Not to mention the Plumber’s BILL for this one...and on a Weekend, No Less.. that’ll make the bill DOUBLE!!
Guess they forgot to pack the plunger, eh?
Why can’t all the toilets break down in the Whitehouse instead of the space station?
I’ve said it before - anyone who gets on a government rocket is braver than I am. It’s only a matter of time before another horrible catastrophe related to this program. Why do we keep sending these things into space anyway? Isn’t it merely to justify the existence of NASA?
Because the White House is already full of...
If the Russian commodes are anything like Ukrainian ones, they'll need to bring money and their own roll of toilet paper.
You hsve no idea how right you are: there’s a “rotary solids separator” in the station toilet.
IT literally is SUPPOSED to hit the fan when operating correctly!!!
Sounds like a crappy day in space ping.
Aw S**t.
Paging Captain Obvious.
Oh Sh*t!
“”For right now, having all (shuttle crewmembers) using the shuttle toilet is not going to be an issue,” station flight director Brian Smith said.”
That’s easy for you to say, Mr. ‘flight director’ Smith.
Put it in baggies and pitch it into space.
How hard can it be to operate the toilet? Make it like a portable john and when it’s full, just eject the waste into space.
No one can hear you crap in space...
It’s those damned low flow toilets.
LOL!
They need to start eating some of that NASA space cheese.
Brings a new meaning to ‘raw footage’.
That is disgusting.
Yes, I’ve known a few astronauts, and they are brave.
The exploration of space in our age is akin to the voyages of the Vikings to the New World, Columbus, and our own Lewis & Clarke expedition.
As the technology improves and the cost comes down Americans WILL move to the new frontier, settle, and exploit the resources.
Did you know that just one near-Earth asteroid has more nickel than known reserves on Earth?
Its the New World without the pesky natives. Note that the Vikings visited the New World but lacked the technology for sustained voyages like the explorers who returned 500 years later.
I am all for the advancement of science and space exploration, as long as it is done by the private sector. Every government program is doomed to failure.
They need to increase their cheese rations, STAT!
I have a very easy remedy. I can’t believe no one hasn’t thought of this one already.
Remember when guys used to “moon” passing vehicles in days gone by? Figure out a way to make an opening with a flap or something and then just squeeze the butt out of it and then you’re never have to worry about disposing of it either. Just plenty of space junk, just add space **** to the list.
Of course, I am trying to be funny here and lots of people won’t take it that way.
Oh my God, when environmentalists here on Earth are as anal as they are, what will the space environmentalists be like?? Disposing of feces in space just might cause universal warming.
Maybe so but on their voyages they just threw the crap overboard.....no problem.
. . .Where it will dessicate and freeze, and eventually re-enter the atmosphere.
After which, NASA will be castigated for launching Icy BMs. . . .
“and eventually re-enter the atmosphere”
And burn up, poof!
One of my friends at Rockwell was the Program Manager of the team that designed the Shuttle Toilet. There are lots of challenges to handling human wastes in zero gravity (don’t want to breath in those pathogens).
The Shuttle DOES dump liquid overboard. It just cannot do that close to the ISS.
In Apollo days, they used a plastic bag that had adhesive to stick it to their butt and a finger cott in the bag to wipe. There was nothing wrong with that system. I sometimes think we just need to recruit hardier astronauts who can handle a bit of unpleasantness in regard to hygiene.
My, How things have changed!
What's the first rule of plumbing? [Sewage] flows downhill, right? Well, in free fall, there's no downhill; the stuff just... floats there. And not just the stuff in the can -- the fresh-squeezed stuff as well. If you take a dump in free fall, it doesn't just plop into the toilet. It hovers. And to get it moving away from you, you either have to push it (by bagging it up and throwing it away) or pull it (using air pressure, i.e. suction).
The NASA space toilets use suction. When you "sit" on the seat (you can't sit, either -- you have to strap yourself to it) a powerful turbopump comes on and sucks you onto the fixture, forming an airtight seal between your ass and the seat. You do your business; then, when you unstrap, the sudden burst of air pressure blows your dookey onto a rotating gadget called a "slinger" that slings it onto the walls of a donut-shaped holding tank. Yes, in space the crap literally does hit the fan.
The trouble is, they've never been able to get the damned thing to work reliably. And so in many cases astronauts have to use the fecal bag system, which is like a plastic grocery bag with a gummed seal around the top of the bag. You stick this Baggie to your ass, then do your thing (#2 only), using your hands to "guide" the poopy away from your butt and into the bottom of the bag as you go. (The bag has reverse-glove fingers in it for this purpose. God help you if you have diarrhea.) The poo-filled bag is then stowed away for later "anal"ysis.
You can see why a lot of 'stros choose to "hold it" while the mission is underway. This works OK for one-week Moon jaunts or three-day test flights, but for long missions it's obviously a non-starter. I suspect that the problem will remain unsolved until we have full-on artificial gravity aboard ship, like the rotating centrifuge bathrooms in 2001.
Incidentally, the lack of good bathroom facilities aboard ship is the reason astronauts traditionally eat a steak and eggs breakfast before launch. Lotta protein in a meal like that, and not much fiber...
"ISS, prepare for emergency docking maneuvers..."
“We don’t yet know the extent of the problem,” he said.
It sounds like they have nothing to go on.
Pennies from heaven. (Or maybe rubles)
Paging Joe the Plumber, Paging Joe the Plumber...call on Line 2 from NASA
You obviously haven’t been on the ISS after Mac and Cheese and Cheese night (evil grin)
Surely the American Spirit is still alive and well enough to find a solution to pooping in zero gravity.
Why is there an Earth bathroom with an Earth toilet on the ISS? Let go of Earth ways. You’re in space! You need a space pooper, not an Earthly American toilet.
(What a unique dilemma to ponder...)
Because Obama doesn't need a toilet while he's got the American people to crap on.
Brought to you by the same people who are going to provide your health care.
That was the primary reason why I chose not to become an astronaut.......Any regrets? Nope!
I agree.
Has anyone stated that it Obama’s fault?
Fascinating. You need to submit that to Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. But, he may have it already.
Grossest. Post. Ever.
Lol!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.