Spacewalk sees ISS saved from toilet troubles

by Stevie Smith - Jul 21 2009, 16:15

Faced with the uncomfortable prospect of performing their ablutions in zero gravity without the aid of a high-tech toilet support system, the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) are likely breathing a collective sigh of relief after a failing porcelain throne returned from the brink of collapse.

Arriving as a somewhat humorous counterpoint to this week’s 40th anniversary celebrations marking man’s first steps on the Moon’s surface, ISS commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Frank De Winne spent a chunk of their Monday on a spacewalk to repair a malfunctioning toilet aboard the station’s Destiny lab.

Separated not just by distance from the Apollo 11 plaudits taking place back on Earth, the two astronauts worked for several hours outside the American module, toiling to replace a broken pump system responsible for sorting liquid waste from solid waste, reports the New York Times.

With the stricken toilet technology now officially back online and able to reliably sift through anything the station’s occupants care to bestow upon it, the seven shuttle astronauts and six ISS crew members are no longer reliant on back-up facilities aboard the docked Endeavour or a second toilet situated in the station’s Russian module.

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