HEALTH AND SANITATION 27
Space Toilets Help Astronauts Boldly Go -Part 2
By
Stephen Webb
Safely and sanitarily relieving oneself in zero gravity requires some real rocket science .
A Brief History of Toilets in Space For longer sojourns in space , MAGs are considered suboptimal , although astronauts would probably consider most versions of space toilets to be suboptimal , as well .
Mercury NASA developed a urine collection device for astronauts to wear inside their suits that worked most of the time . During the final Mercury mission in 1963 , however , astronaut Gordon Cooper ’ s device leaked urine onto sensitive electronics that supported the automatic navigation system , damaging them in the process . As a result , Cooper had to handle all the risky re-entry maneuvers manually . in space to be so unpleasant that they routinely gave themselves enemas before take-off and relied on lowresidue diets to reduce fecal volume .
The Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle WCS employed rotating fans to distribute solid waste into a cylindrical container where it was exposed to a vacuum to dry for storage . It also featured a four-inch opening for defecation that required hours of training using a simulator to help crew members learn how to sit on it properly . Reportedly , astronauts training to position were watched by other astronauts , who laughed and joked about it .
David Viola , IAPMO CEO
In the spirit of the sharing of unique experiences that shape the plumbing industries in our respective nations , the following article looks at the history of plumbing in outer space . Written by Correspondent Stephen Webb , it is the next in a regular series of similar articles that will run in this magazine .
Gemini and Apollo Early Gemini and Apollo astronauts employed a relief tube that released liquid into space and collected solid waste in bags . These bags adhered to their backsides and came with finger cots so they could knead a germicide into excrement when they ’ d finished doing their business . Astronauts felt this was so uncomfortable and timeconsuming — taking up to 45 minutes for a bathroom break — that they typically consumed less than half the food provided for them . ( Of course , the taste of early space food might have been a factor , too .)
International Space Station Initially , ISS had a single Russian-made toilet based on the same design they ’ d been using for decades . Prone to breakdowns , NASA purchased a second one in 2008 for use as a back-up . Both toilets collected solids in microperforated
Soyez and Mir Starting in 1967 , the Soviet Union took the lead in space toilet technology by installing basic onboard toilet facilities on all its Soyuz spacecraft and a more elaborate version on its space station MIR . Similar in design to the Waste Collection System ( WCS ) later used on the Space Shuttle and ISS , these systems vented urine out into space . By the time MIR was decommissioned in 2001 , its solar panels were down to 60 % efficiency , which was later attributed mainly to damage caused by frozen urine crashing into them at high velocities .
SkyLab The Skylab space station , used briefly by NASA from 1973- 74 , had a combination shower and toilet and served as a medical facility for returning samples of urine , feces , and vomit to earth for studying calcium balance in astronauts .
Even with improvements in toilet design and functionality , MIR and Skylab astronauts continued to find defecating
Jeff Ortiz / IAPMO
September 2022 Volume 28 I Number 7 www . plumbingafrica . co . za