All toilets on the International Space Station (ISS) were inoperative. This, as RIA Novosti reports, is stated in negotiations between crew members and the Houston flight control center.
Currently, there are two Russian-made bathrooms on the ISS: one of them is located in the Zvezda module, the other in the Tranquility block. These space toilets have a similar design. Liquid waste after absorption is split into oxygen and water for subsequent use in the closed cycle of the orbital station. Solid waste is collected in special plastic bags, which are then transferred to a cargo ship for further disposal.
It is reported that one of the toilets is currently not working due to constant indications of malfunction. The second is not used due to the tank being overfilled.
Toilets are also available on manned Soyuz spacecraft docked to the ISS, but they can only be used when absolutely necessary. Therefore, crew members are forced to use special devices for collecting urine - Urine Collection Device (UCD).
Later it became known that the functionality of the toilet in the Tranquility module was restored. There is no information about the causes of the malfunction and the likelihood of its recurrence.
Meanwhile, Roscosmos has decided on the timing of the docking of the Progress MS-13 cargo ship with the International Space Station. Let us remind you that the launch of this device was recently from December 1 to December 6. The reason is a note on the on-board cable. However, the problem was promptly corrected, and now Roscosmos has announced the date for the spacecraft’s docking with the orbital complex.
“Due to the fact that the launch of the American cargo ship Dragon of the SpX-19 mission is scheduled for December 4, docking on December 7, and the NASA agency proposed to include December 8 as a reserve day, the flight management of the Russian segment of the International Space Station decided to set the docking date of the Progress MS-13 ship on December 9 according to the standard three-day schedule,” the state corporation said in a statement.
Source: 3dnews.ru