Urine Recycler Running At Space Station
After Several Days With No Luck, Astronauts Successfully Test Machine That Turns Waste Into Drinking Water
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In this image from NASA TV, astronaut Stephen Bowen is seen during a space walk outside the International Space Station, Monday, Nov. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/NASA-TV)
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In this photo released by NASA, astronaut Steve Bowen, STS-126 mission specialist, participates in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station on Saturday Nov. 22, 2008. (AP Photo/NASA)
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Crew members from Space Shuttle Endeavour embark on a spacewalk for an unprecedented cleaning and lube job at the international space station Nov. 18, 2008. (NASA)
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Crew members from Space Shuttle Endeavour embark on a spacewalk for an unprecedented cleaning and lube job at the international space station Nov. 18, 2008. (NASA)
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In a photo provided by NASA, the Space Shuttle Endeavor has a backdrop of clouds as it approaches the International Space Station Nov. 16, 2008 prior to docking with the space station. (AP Photo/NASA)
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Play CBS Video Video Small Snags On ISS Bill Harwood, CBS News Space Analyst, discusses the latest from Shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station, including small snags in a new water purification system onboard.
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Video Renovations In Space The International Space Station is getting a facelift, courtesy of Shuttle Endeavour. CBS News Space Consultant Bill Harwood explains.
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Video Life At The International Space Station CBS News' Meg Oliver talks with the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station (ISS) about life in space, the work on the ISS and what it feels like to do a space walk.
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Photo Essay Endeavour Mission STS-126 Seven person crew headed to space station on 15-day "home improvement" mission.
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Interactive Shuttle Era Follow the history of America's space shuttle program.
"Not to spoil anything, but I think up here the appropriate words are 'Yippee!'" space station commander Mike Fincke told Mission Control early Tuesday morning, shortly before bedtime.
"There will be dancing later," Mission Control replied.
Astronauts had spent a frustrating five days trying to get the urine processor working. But until early Tuesday, the machine couldn't last the four hours needed for a successful test run.
The urine processor ran for five hours Monday night, and flight controllers restarted it in the middle of the night. Another urine processor test was planned later Tuesday, shortly after the seven astronauts on the docked space shuttle Endeavour and the three space station crew members woke up.
Flight director Brian Smith said everything had to go well Tuesday and Wednesday in order for enough recycled water samples to be collected to return to Earth aboard Endeavour.
NASA added a 16th day to Endeavour's mission so astronauts could tinker with the urine processor. Endeavour is now set to undock Friday and land in Florida on Sunday.
The urine processor makes up a section of the $154 million water recycling system that was delivered to the space station by Endeavour. The machine is crucial to providing drinking water for the space station's crew, which is supposed to double to six members next year.
Samples of the processed urine, sweat and condensation will be tested on Earth before astronauts can start drinking the purified water next year.
In an effort to fix the problem, Fincke and Endeavour astronaut Donald Pettit had removed vibration grommets, which were used to mount a centrifuge in the urine processor, and bolted the piece down.
In other good news, the Endeavour astronauts learned Tuesday that the four spacewalks they performed during the mission paid dividends. The focus of the spacewalks was cleaning and lubricating a jammed solar-wing joint on the station's right side.
Mission Control said the early morning test went well. "I guess 'victory' clearly is the word," said shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson.
That joint had not worked properly for more than a year, preventing the solar wings on that side from pointing automatically toward the sun to generate electricity. Grinding parts left the joint full of metal shavings that kept it from rotating.
Smith cautioned that months of testing still were ahead to make certain the rotary joint was functioning 100 percent.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
More From SciTech
- Hey come on all of you grow up! This urine processor is crutial to NASA and future visits to the International Space Station. Remember anything about technology and where a lot of it came from??
- Reply to this comment
- Shades of Dune. Stillsuits at the local army surplus. Yum...
- Reply to this comment
Hence the chant:
"Taste Great!"
"Less Filling"- Reply to this comment
- it worked?
...oh **** - Reply to this comment
- Yeah I here those astronauts are drinking the **** out of that water up there in space....
- Reply to this comment
- Boy, these astronauts are really kinky, eh?
Posted by closethippy1 at 04:54 PM
LOL! Yeah, you''d have to pay extra for that in vegas! - Reply to this comment
- Boy, these astronauts are really kinky, eh?
- Reply to this comment
- As long as they don''t drink straight from the tapper it''ll be ok.
- Reply to this comment
- Hurry up and pee, I''m thirsty!
- Reply to this comment
- Who''s the lucky one that got to TEST it?? LOL
Posted by caco58 at 04:11 PM
That would have been old yellow toothed cosmonaut Ivan Drippov. - Reply to this comment
- If they wanted to drink p1sswater, they should have brought Budweiser with them.
- Reply to this comment
- Just so the Russian Cosmonauts don''t throw there cigarette butts in the machine....
- Reply to this comment
- Hey whats that white stuff floating around in it?? hehehe
- Reply to this comment
- Oh sorry mate it didn''t clean the cup you drank!!
- Reply to this comment
- Who''s the lucky one that got to TEST it?? LOL
- Reply to this comment
- Seems NASA could have saved lots of bucks sending up a few cases of Zima...oh, that''s right, they don''t make it anymore.
Posted by deceler8 at 03:53 PM
Or they could send up a case of Corona, but that would taste like the rerun urine anyway.... - Reply to this comment
- Posted by rafterman1 at 02:45 PM : Nov 25, 2008
Google "caesars last breath" and then think "caesars last breath"... - Reply to this comment
- Seems NASA could have saved lots of bucks sending up a few cases of Zima...oh, that''s right, they don''t make it anymore.
- Reply to this comment
- Dune, dood.
- Reply to this comment
- This is old technology... didn''t anyone see Waterworld??
- Reply to this comment
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