Posted on 07/19/2009 9:33:13 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The bathroom lines just got a lot longer at the linked space shuttle and space station.
One of the two toilets on the international space station malfunctioned Sunday morning. The pump separator apparently flooded. Mission Control advised the astronauts to hang an "out of service" sign on the toilet, until it can be fixed. In the meantime, the six space station residents will have to get in line to use their one good toilet. And Endeavour's seven astronauts will be restricted to the shuttle bathroom.
There have never been so many people — 13 — together in space. The toilet repair work fell to Belgian Frank De Winne.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
LOL!
There’s one in every crowd.
In zero gravity, using a plunger on a blocked toilet might not be a good idea. Just saying.
You’re right. In fact, it doesn’t always work so well here on Earth.
Using one here on earth aint much better
Memo to Houston....cut back on the fiber in the MREs.
Yep, I saw that episode of The Big Bang Theory as well. First thing I thought of. I believe the best fix was with one of those 3-pronged plastic things that they stick in pizzas to keep them from sticking to the top of the pizza box, but they didn't have one of those available on the space station.
If they are resourceful they can just use a hanger.
then again there is this nifty trick. I use dish soap and let it stand for 15 minutes. A quick plunge or two and I am done. Sometimes I do have add boiling water and that usually results in the toilet flushing itself.
Damn....Alabama plumbers don’t come cheap do they?
no relief tubes there...
That is a very funny show.
Yeah, but I thought it didn't work? Didn't the episode end with them evacuating the space station?
I remember having the single, tiny toilet on a C-141 malfunction while I was using it once. We were over the Pacific, hours from land, and I was standing there with my partially-removed flight suit laying on the floor, and me thinking “this is not going to end well”!
Astronaut Diapers
I loved that show!
I’ve seen it piggy backed at Dyess. It was one nasty filty dirty sad looking craft.
Joe the Plumber - report for astronaut training...
I just hope the Belgian doesn’t waffle!
Don’t say I didn’t sound a warning! This story makes it sound like there are 2 crannies on the space station but I have a hunch one of them is in the Shuttle. If there are 2 on the Station then they still have 2 left. I wonder how Houston is simulating this problem?
They took 11 engineers, fed them copious amounts of nachos and locked them in a closet?
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