When you can't just boldly go: space station toilet need repairing

[muriel_volestrangler]

Toilet trouble for space station

International Space Station astronauts are eagerly awaiting the arrival of shuttle Discovery - it is bringing a new pump to mend their broken toilet.

The station's urine collection unit, as opposed to its solid waste unit, has been malfunctioning for several days.

Nasa said it thought a separator pump was at fault, and the three male crew members were operating it manually.

To make room for the new part, Nasa has had to remove other equipment from the shuttle, which launches on Saturday.

"Clearly, having a working toilet is a priority for us," shuttle payload manager Scott Higginbotham said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7425180.stm

[EstimatedProphet]

1. Bummer. It's not like they can just go outside...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. Why did they leave it to the Russians to build the toilet?

Yes, let's build a space station, but give the job of bodily waste disposal to the most cash-strapped country involved in the venture!

[unpossibles]

3. I hate to imagine what the plumber is going to charge! nt

[Blue-Jay]

4. Just piss in a bottle and toss it out.

If I can do it while driving a car, they can do in zero gravity.

[kay1864]

5. It gets better!

Nasa said one of its employees was rushing from Russia to Florida with the spare parts for the Russian-built toilet ahead of the shuttle launch.

A 50cm-long (20in) pump and additional hardware, weighing about 16kg (35lbs), would be carried as hand luggage on a commercial plane, Nasa said.

The employee is expected to drive the parts to the Kennedy Space Center, and they should be packed on the shuttle on Thursday.

For a while, the crew was told to use toilet facilities in the Soyuz capsule docked at the ISS, and several other backup solutions are available.

The space station's solid waste unit is said to be functioning well.

Anyone wanna make bets that TSA confiscates the parts? :P




And WTF is up with BBC downgrading "NASA" to "Nasa", huh? Oh I get it, if it's ENGLISH, it's "BBC", but if it's FROM THE YANKS, it's "Nasa", IS THAT IT?

That's it, let's bomb that fookin' island. :grr: :mad:

[Parche]

6. Locking

Bodily function thread

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:hi:

[kay1864]

7. I've already Alerted

Muriel will have to lock himself, and send himself a warning PM :thumbsup:

[kineneb]

8. "How do you mend...

...a broken head, and make the poo go away."

sorry