Space Forum / Shuttle / May 2008

"Space station crew to NASA: 'Send plumber soon' "

By SETH BORENSTEIN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, May 27, 2008; 6:32 PM

WASHINGTON -- The international space station's lone toilet is broken,
leaving the crew with almost nowhere to go. So NASA may order an in-
orbit plumbing service call when space shuttle Discovery visits next
week.

Until then, the three-man crew will have to make do with a jury-rigged
system when they need to urinate.

While one of the crew was using the Russian-made toilet last week, the
toilet motor fan stopped working, according to NASA. Since then, the
liquid waste gathering part of the toilet has been working on-and-off.
Fortunately, the solid waste collecting part is functioning normally.
Russian officials don't know the cause of the problem and the crew has
been unable to fix it.

The crew has used the toilet on the Soyuz return capsule, but it has a
limited capacity. They are now are using a back-up bag-like collection
system that can be connected to the broken toilet, according to NASA
public affairs officials.

"Like any home anywhere the importance of having a working bathroom is
obvious," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said.

The 7-year-old toilet has broken once before but not for as long a
time, said Johnson Space Center spokeswoman Nicole Cloutier in
Houston.

Discovery is already set for launch Saturday with a planned docking
with the space station on Monday. Cloutier said NASA officials are
considering having some parts flown to Cape Canaveral and placed in
the shuttle during its countdown, an unusual and delicate situation.
Because the shuttle's payload weight is limited and balance carefully
calculated, it will be tricky to try to figure out where the parts can
go, said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Bill Johnson

Discovery's main payload, a 32,000-pound Japanese laboratory addition,
is so big that the shuttle's boom sensor system had to be removed to
make room for the lab.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR2008052702353.html

___