Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Jul 12, 2005 19:01:37 GMT -6
ISS Astronauts May Have Trouble With Space Toilet
From the Moscow News...
The International Space Station has enough food and water to host nine people, but there could be some trouble with the toilet, Itar Tass reported Monday citing the Russian Space Flights Control Centre.
The ISS is now getting ready to welcome seven astronauts from the shuttle Discovery, who will join the crew of two people on board the station.
There is enough oxygen, food and drink for nine people to live on for a month, the Centre’s official told Itar Tass, but the lavatory could be the cause of trouble.
“There can be problems with the lavatory, the resources of which are not neverending,” he said.
The station’s lavatory is only fit for long-term use by two or three people.
The ISS crew commander Sergei Krikalev has previously warned of the problems that nine people could get into if they get stuck on board the station for too long.
He asked NASA to consider eliminating three of the seven shuttle passengers so that in an emergency all the people could leave the station in two three-seater Soyuz aircrafts.
The NASA management, however, does not seem to be taking the cosmonaut’s warning seriously.
The Discovery shuttle will take off on July 13 to make the 114th U.S. shuttle flight. The flight will last for 12 days.
More here: www.mosnews.com/news/2005/07/11/spaceloo.shtml
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I recommend going before liftoff.
