NASA's Answer To Water Shortage Is In Its Pants

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts aboard the orbiting shuttle-station complex got a double dose of good news Tuesday: A rotary joint that they spent days cleaning and lubing appeared to be working normally again for the first time in more than a year, and a urine-recycling machine finally was behaving.

NASA officials cautioned more tests are needed, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm 225 miles up.

"I guess 'victory' clearly is the word," said space shuttle Endeavour's commander, Christopher Ferguson.

The urine processor _ a key part of a new $154 million water recycling system delivered by Endeavour _ was the first to fall into line. It had been shutting down prematurely ever since it was installed at the international space station last week, and the astronauts had spent days trying to coax it into operation.

By early Tuesday, the machine had run continuously for five hours, well past the intended mark. Additional testing was ongoing, and hopes were high that more than enough samples of processed urine would be returned to Earth aboard Endeavour for safety tests.

Space station skipper Mike Fincke, who had nursed the urine processor along, yelled "Yippee" when he learned it was finally doing its job.

"You have to remember that this is serial number zero-zero-one for a brand new technology which we're testing out here on space station, so you can expect to have a few hiccups," said astronaut Donald Pettit, who also worked on the contraption.

NASA needs to be able to convert astronauts' urine and sweat into drinking water in order to double the size of the space station crew to six next year. No one will drink any of the recycled water until the equipment runs for at least 90 days in orbit and tests on the ground demonstrate it's safe.

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Flight director Holly Ridings said Endeavour should return this weekend with six one-liter containers of recycled urine and condensation. That's more than originally expected thanks to the extra day the crew was given. Additional samples will be returned on the next shuttle flight in February.

The astronauts taped a "Yesterday's coffee" label to the bag containing the first batch of processed urine, and held it up for the TV cameras.

"We're well on our way" to achieving a full six-person space station crew by June, said space station program manager Mike Suffredini.

Extra astronauts will mean additional science work being conducted, and that will require extra power. NASA is hoping the joint repairs will help.

For more than a year, the jammed joint had prevented the solar wings on the right side of the space station from automatically pointing toward the sun. Endeavour's astronauts went out four times to clean and lubricate the joint, and replace its bearings.

Their efforts evidently paid off. The joint rotated twice in the automatic mode over a three-hour period Tuesday, and everything seemed to go well in the test.

Suffredini stressed at a news conference that months of testing remain. It's possible that nothing more will need to be replaced in the joint and that a lube job every year or so by spacewalking astronauts will keep it functioning until at least 2015.

Endeavour is scheduled to undock from the space station on Friday and return to Earth on Sunday.

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On the Net:

NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

Comments

[SeanONe]

The Russians have perfected this technlogy already and have had recycling for decades. This stupid vanity project is a complete waste of time and money.

[mamacat]

Plans to expand the ISS staff beyond 3 astronauts rest entirely upon the ability of this machine to recycle urine. But what is going to happen if there are 8 scientists up there and all of a sudden they don't have enough water? Are they going to draw straws to see who takes a spacewalk without a spacesuit? Seems to me they will need at least two of these machines, because the one that is up there now is not working very well.

At this point, the expansion of man's adventures in space are dependent upon a urine recycler built by the lowest bidder.

[KillTheMessenger]

Actually, extending the ISS crew beyond 3 astronauts is not possible because there is no emergency return vehicle for more than three astronauts available at this point. It has nothing to do with the water supply whatsoever. You simply have to send more Progress supply ships with more food an water, that's all.

[Motes]

I do not think they are any plans to limit the crew to 3 people because soyuz can only hold 3 people. It is not clear (to me) whether they will take a risk a catastrophe on a malfunction or if they will get a second soyuz vehicle.
A recycled urine system can obviously be useful beyond the space station if you are in an area where the water supply is hazardous to your health or unavailable. In many areas it is probably easier to setup a urine filtration system with their own solar panels for energy rather than find water (the desert).

[Tom95134]

Where did they get 5 hours of piss? Or did someone sneak a race horse up onto the space station, i.e., "Having to piss like a race horse."

[BillMelater]

Won't that be just dandy for all those astronauts to have to deal with a quirky urine to fresh water machine? Yuk!

http://billmel8er.wordpress.com

[GrayOwl]

If I were up there and facing the prospect of drinking recycled urine, I would make damned sure this Rube Goldberg gizmo didn't work. Second, I'd make the NASA administrator do the sipping for the test back on earth. Whose idea was this? The auto industry's Grand Titans? Actually, I'd venture to say it was the brainstorm of a NASA desk jockey who has his/her own office water cooler, not the brainstorm of an astronaut. Oh, well, it cost us (taxpayers) a mere $154 million -- and why not? We have no other financial needs these days.... Is no one in government watching these expenses? (Answer: No.)

[KillTheMessenger]

You are drinking recycled urine. Where do you think your pee goes when you flush? It goes back into the water cycle of the planet...

Bummer.