from the ur-ine-big-trouble-because-there-is-more-than-a-passing-interest dept.
SpaceX needs to tame toilet trouble before weekend launch:
The company and NASA want to make sure the toilet leaks won’t compromise the capsule launching early Sunday from Kennedy Space Center or another one that’s been parked at the International Space Station since April.
During SpaceX’s first private flight last month, a tube came unglued, spilling urine onto fans and beneath the floor, said William Gerstenmaier, a SpaceX vice president who used to work for NASA. The same problem was recently discovered inside the Dragon capsule at the space station, he told reporters Monday night.
As a permanent fix, SpaceX has welded on the urine-flushing tube that's inside the company's newest capsule, named Endurance by its U.S.-German crew. NASA isn't quite finished reviewing the last-minute fix.
SpaceX To Launch On Halloween If It Tames Toilet Trouble:
[...] As for the Dragon capsule in orbit, less urine pooled beneath the floor panels than the one that carried a billionaire and three others on a three-day flight, Gerstenmaier said. That’s because the NASA-led crew only spent a day living in it before arriving at the space station.
SpaceX is conducting tests to make sure the spilled liquid didn’t weaken the orbiting capsule during the past six months, Gerstenmaier said. Any structural damage could endanger astronauts during their flight back to Earth next month. The final tests should be completed later this week, he noted.
A project to make the space toilet from Iron, Carbon and Aluminum could be called project FeCAl.
See also:
SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endurance arrives at rocket hangar in awesome photos
(Score: 5, Funny) by Opportunist on Wednesday October 27 2021, @05:45AM (2 children)
I hope they get it fixed before the shit hits the fan, that could be messy. After all, we have to make sure people can go where no man has gone before.
I think they have to deal mostly with two problems. Number one: And of course the bigger one, number two.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 27 2021, @07:01AM
More importantly, what headline will generate the most clicks and front page stories.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 27 2021, @07:15AM
I too have seen Big Bang Theory.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 27 2021, @05:54AM (1 child)
Ask any anal porn actress.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 27 2021, @01:07PM
Incorrect. I don't see any mention of fiber here [kinkly.com].
(Score: 5, Funny) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday October 27 2021, @07:50AM
That's a desirable feature. I'd piss on them myself if I had the opportunity.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday October 27 2021, @07:56AM (1 child)
A successful joke made of fluoride, uranium, nitrogen and yttrium would be FUNNY.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 27 2021, @09:23PM
Not FUNY?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday October 27 2021, @11:12AM (7 children)
So, they got a quarter billion things 'just right', but forgot to potty train the dragon. This inspires the utmost confidence that nothing could possibly go wrong in the future.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 27 2021, @12:15PM
Yes, but will they be flying over Arkansas? [jonathanturley.org]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday October 27 2021, @02:19PM (3 children)
Is it not socially acceptable to vent waste to space in 2021? I can understand not wanting to intentionally drop things like screws and washers into orbit, but liquid should disperse into relatively harmless vapor almost instantly.
If the urine toilet solution is an overboard vent, then the system would seem to be almost too simple to screw up - unless, of course, you put a hose on a fitting without adequate clamping... something anybody who has maintained a boat in the water for any length of time _should_ be able to tell you all about the importance of.
🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by istartedi on Wednesday October 27 2021, @06:11PM (1 child)
I don't know about the design of this thing, but other than the hatch I wouldn't want any more holes in the crew compartment. Of course signals have to cross in and out of the crew compartment to control hardware that's exposed to space; but sealing electrical connections seems safer than sealing a tube that carries liquid.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday October 27 2021, @08:30PM
I mean, it would be a bitch if it got stuck open, but a 1 liter volume, or smaller airlock should suck in whatever needs to leave, and obviously you don't open the outer door until you've confirmed good seal on the inner door...
🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 28 2021, @12:15AM
This was plumbing internal to the toilet itself that leaked onto an air circulation fan. It would be a problem whether or not the toilet vents outside after collection.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 28 2021, @12:22AM
Dragon is out of diapers, but little kids still have accidents sometimes. If "nothing could possibly go wrong in the future" was the standard then nothing would ever get done.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 28 2021, @12:24AM
Let's go Brandon! Only if the toilet is working!