[ad_1]
SpaceX launched four astronauts to the iconic orbiting station on the first real taxi flight to NASA by a private space company. NASA Chief Jim Bridenstine said, This is another historic moment. “[But] Make no mistake: vigilance is always required on every flight. “
Though the Crew Dragon capsules incorporate numerous upgrades, one in particular gains the most attention: its toilet.
The SpaceX toilet is officially called Crew Dragon’s “waste removal system”.
The two NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard the Crew Dragon will spend nearly a full day in the capsule.
This means that it is essential that there is a toilet on board the Crew Dragon.
READ MORE: New from SpaceX: “Private enterprise will conquer the last frontier”
How do NASA astronauts go to the bathroom on their journey to the ISS?
Unfortunately, the defecatory details regarding the SpaceX Crew Dragon toilet remain hidden.
Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s vice president of mission insurance, said at a press conference Monday in response to a question about the toilet: “I don’t know the potty’s answer to the potty question.”
However, more intimate information about this mysterious SpaceX toilet may be revealed once the NASA crew returns to Earth.
Doug Hurley said at a previous press conference: “We’ll let you know how it works. We’ll let you know when we get back.”
A potted story of the space potty:
While the bathroom on the orbiting space station is even more old-fashioned, it’s nowhere near as bad as the heavy-duty diapers used by astronauts on missions like the Apollo moon trips.
But even the $ 19,000 Russian-made toilet is not popular with astronauts.
Astronauts use a funnel equipped with a fan that sucks their pee, so it doesn’t float away.
Then it takes about eight days for the liquid to become drinking water again for the astronauts.
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who recorded 665 days in space, says things aren’t that simple if you want to do more than just urinate.
He told Business Insider, “Number two … it’s more challenging because you’re trying to hit a pretty small goal.”
ISS residents go to the bathroom in a small hole the size of a plate above that silver can, using the fan to suck up the excrement.
After the astronauts are finished, the feces are sealed in a plastic bag, waiting for an opportunity to be disposed of.
Ms Wilson added: “After it starts filling up, you have to put on a rubber glove and pack it.”
[ad_2]
Source link
