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Finally we talk about the important part about space travel: pooping.
Was there a backup plan in case the Shuttle toilet malfunctioned?
What was the plan in case the Space Shuttle toilet malfunctioned? How were the astronauts expected to then handle their waste? Did they carry Apollo-style fecal collection assemblies (poop bags)? Or did they just have extra fecal containment systems (diapers)? //
According to Scott Manley, they did indeed carry Apollo-style poop bags. But those were so distasteful that a mission could be scrubbed if that was all they had to rely on. youtube.com/watch?v=w5y0mTqK54k – Greg Jun 24 at 17:41 //
Some non-catastrophic failures of the WCS could be worked around.
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Mechanical failures of the commode control handle or linkage could be worked around using procedures in the In-flight Maintenance Checklist. //
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Finally, if both fan/separators were failed, urinal operations could be recovered by connecting the urinal hose directly to the waste water overboard dump system. However, this resulted in a direct connection from the crewmember to vacuum, and the procedure contained this immortal warning.
WARNING: Urinal connected to vacuum. Allow for airflow. Do not 'Hard Dock' w/Urinal Funnel. Physical injury possible.
(From In Flight Maintenance Checklist section W, not currently online) //
NASA seem to like sneaking dry jokes into their technical documentation, and the euphemistic use of the term "hard dock" is perhaps my new favourite example. – anaximander Jun 23 at 16:10
@GdD early on there were lots of problems. The original version included a "slinger" - yes, the feces was supposed to hit the fan - and that liked to fail. A search through the Shuttle Missions Summary for 'wcs' turns up many examples. https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/outreach/SignificantIncidents/assets/space-shuttle-missions-summary.pdf Feel free to ask a followup for details. – Organic Marble Jun 23 at 16:21 //
[do] We have a badge for know your sh**? – Anthony Stevens Jun 23 at 18:42
Next on English.SE: when feces not hitting the fan is the cause of your problem, does the expression "when shit hits the fan" still apply? – Mast Jun 24 at 7:00
This is why regular space tourism is still a long way off. Training your average Joe and Jane Hawaiian-shirt wearing sightseers how to properly use the space-commodes is probably unlikely to work at scale any time soon. – Darrel Hoffman Jun 25 at 13:55