All things NASA & SpaceX. Past, Present & Future.

[mechaninac]

11 minutes ago, JB0 said:

Especially if they can't get the toilet fixed. They might be spending the next ten days bagging it like Apollo.

I guess, if that's the case, we may need to add stinky to the list... 

[Dangard Ace]

44 minutes ago, JB0 said:

Especially if they can't get the toilet fixed. They might be spending the next ten days bagging it like Apollo.

Did Howard Wolowitz build that toilet?

 

[Big s]

They had the budget to either get a rocket up or get a torpedo down.

[JB0]

They got the toilet fixed. After turning it off and on again.
...
And then had problems connecting their tablets to Wi-Fi. 

"I have two Outlooks and neither one works." is now a sentence that was uttered across the gulf of space, as is "We're going to power-cycle the toilet."  The future is dumb. 
Possibly the most mundane problems in the history of space exploration, which I guess is a good thing.


Hopefully the working toilet means the number of times official mission transcripts include the phrase "there's a turd floating through the air" remains one. 

[Thom]

If those are the only hiccups...

[M'Kyuun]

15 hours ago, Dangard Ace said:

Did Howard Wolowitz build that toilet?

 

 

11 hours ago, Big s said:

They had the budget to either get a rocket up or get a torpedo down.

😄

 

10 hours ago, JB0 said:

They got the toilet fixed. After turning it off and on again.
...
And then had problems connecting their tablets to Wi-Fi. 

"I have two Outlooks and neither one works." is now a sentence that was uttered across the gulf of space, as is "We're going to power-cycle the toilet."  The future is dumb. 
Possibly the most mundane problems in the history of space exploration, which I guess is a good thing.


Hopefully the working toilet means the number of times official mission transcripts include the phrase "there's a turd floating through the air" remains one. 

Amazing how much stuff can be fixed by recycling power. It worked on airplanes, too, a common "fix" for avionics and other electronic systems. I worked hydraulics, so a leak or some other related malfunction generally meant we were getting dirty. I imagine it's not so different for the space plumbers who actually have to tear into the toilet. I imagine they make a good salary but, ugh, not a job I'd wanna do. 🤢

Although it's far more spacious than the Apollo era capsules, it's still pretty tight confines for four people over ten days, and perhaps a little awkward for the solo female aboard. I suspect one of the normalcies of space flight is the shedding of modesty and shame, at least to a fair degree, when it comes to bathroom use and overall hygiene.  I feel for the astronauts who have to live in that environment for the duration of their trip, and for the poor folks on clean-up duty when they land, as I believe these new capsules are reusable. If not, it's going to a museum, so either way, it'll be in need of a serious wipe down. To paraphrase Alien, "In space, everyone can smell your crap".

I believe it was John Young who made the "floating turd" comment. I can only imagine the grimaces on the faces of NASA's PR people when that gem came across for all to hear. That was space reality, though, and it's awkward, funny, and poignant to have it memorialized in a transmission. Probably wasn't so funny when it was happening, though. Yuck!

[TangledThorns]

Now I no longer want to be an astronaut. Pooping in the woods was enough for me in the US Army, lol. 

 

Artemis II toilet returns to 'normal operations' after brief issue

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/04/02/artemis-ii-toilet-problem/89432179007/
 

Apollo-era Fecal Containment Device

https://www.spacecentre.co.uk/collections/categories/apollo/apollo-era-fecal-containment-device/

 

[Big s]

Ran across this one and think it’s a great idea

Edited April 3 by Big s

[505thAirborne]

That would be one of the greatest pranks of all time. 

Love that picture, I miss hiking at Malibu Creek. 

[Big s]

22 minutes ago, 505thAirborne said:

That would be one of the greatest pranks of all time. 

Love that picture, I miss hiking at Malibu Creek. 

I think the greatest prank was the one that the ground crew somehow pulled off for April fools by temporarily disabling the toilet, but this would be a close second 

[505thAirborne]

Video from Thursday, getting closer to the moon. Seeing how "Cozy" it is in there, good thing they got the toilet working. 

[renegadeleader1]

On 4/1/2026 at 8:02 PM, Dangard Ace said:

Did Howard Wolowitz build that toilet?

 

Nope, it was the the guy that designed U-1206's toilet 😆

[sh9000]

[M'Kyuun]

Let's be honest; these are all type A individuals, very intelligent, driven, and highly accomplished. Knowing that, I admire the modesty expressed by Christina concerning what they're about to accomplish relative to future missions and the graciousness they expressed towards the ground crews and unsung folks whose efforts contribute to making such an audacious feat possible. You can feel their excitement and their camaraderie is real, easy, and unforced, true professionals. Glad they're representing Earth and I hope theirs is a safe and exceedingly successful journey to the moon and back home.

[Thom]

A couple of real beautiful images there.

[Dynaman]

More space in the capsule then I thought.  That said it is not a job for anyone who is even mildly claustrophobic.

[TangledThorns]

1 hour ago, Dynaman said:

More space in the capsule then I thought.  That said it is not a job for anyone who is even mildly claustrophobic.

 

Try flying economy from DC to Hong Kong, lol. 

Edited April 4 by TangledThorns

[M'Kyuun]

Or a fully loaded KC-135 headed for deployment. Bonus, no floor heat, so if you're unlucky enough to be stuck in the jump seats, your lower legs and feet freeze while you overheat from the waist up. A water bottle left on the floor for a long-duration trip will freeze, so it's not the most comfortable flight. I guess the Integrity crew were getting cold in the capsule and they were working on bumping up their heat. That'll be a long ten days if the heater breaks. Jim Lovell and his crew survived with their heat very low to off, so one assumes it's survivable, but with everything else they need to do during the mission, I'd rather they be warm and cozy while doing it.

[TangledThorns]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

Or a fully loaded KC-135 headed for deployment. Bonus, no floor heat, so if you're unlucky enough to be stuck in the jump seats, your lower legs and feet freeze while you overheat from the waist up. A water bottle left on the floor for a long-duration trip will freeze, so it's not the most comfortable flight. I guess the Integrity crew were getting cold in the capsule and they were working on bumping up their heat. That'll be a long ten days if the heater breaks. Jim Lovell and his crew survived with their heat very low to off, so one assumes it's survivable, but with everything else they need to do during the mission, I'd rather they be warm and cozy while doing it.

 

Yeah, military flights sucks and probably why its good experience for astronauts. Never been in a KC-135 but did fly from Kodiak to Attu island in Alaska in a Coast Guard C-130 with some island hopping in between yet somehow I still feel like flying economy overseas is worse, lol. 

Edited April 4 by TangledThorns

[Big s]

I guess the toilet drama continues 

 

[JB0]

5 hours ago, Dynaman said:

More space in the capsule then I thought.  That said it is not a job for anyone who is even mildly claustrophobic.

It has been described as having 60% more volume than Apollo's command module. It also has 33% more crew, but still a net gain. 
It has also been described as having the same amount of volume as "two minivans".

I am thinking of it as a family of four in a motorhome for two weeks.


Also, Apollo did not have a bathroom with a privacy door. Or a toilet. 
Speaking of: The latest with the toilet is that the urine vent has iced up and it is poop-only. As in I have the live stream open right now and they said it as I was typing.

Edited April 4 by JB0

[Big s]

1 hour ago, JB0 said:

Speaking of: The latest with the toilet is that the urine vent has iced up and it is poop-only. As in I have the live stream open right now and they said it as I was typing.

So it went from burning to freezing. This might be the first crew killed off by toilet issues 

[JB0]

35 minutes ago, Big s said:

So it went from burning to freezing. This might be the first crew killed off by toilet issues 

They've got bags to pee in, they'll be fiiiiiine.

 

(They've rotated the ship to get more sun on the urine vent and it seems to be working.)

[Thom]

Well, if that's their biggest problem!😁

[TangledThorns]

In space no one can hear you fart... but they can still smell it!! 🤣

[Dynaman]

9 hours ago, TangledThorns said:

 

Try flying economy from DC to Hong Kong, lol. 

Worst I have done is Twin Cities to Hawaii in coach, bad enough.  My last flight from Florida to Indiana to Nashville (stupid airlines) nearly did me in.  The older I get the more claustrophobic I get.

[rsvictor1976]

I hope this trip doesn't turn into a meme like the poop cruise. 

[M'Kyuun]

6 hours ago, TangledThorns said:

 

Yeah, military flights sucks and probably why its good experience for astronauts. Never been in a KC-135 but did fly from Kodiak to Attu island in Alaska in a Coast Guard C-130 with some island hopping in between yet somehow I still feel like flying economy overseas is worse, lol. 

I liked flying on the old Hercy-birds. They could be a little cramped when fully loaded, however. The worst part of flying on 130s was the noise- you have to shout to be heard, even when sitting next to somebody. Just really loud. I always get a chuckle when they show people on Hercs in movies and they're all speaking in normal conversational tones in a nice quiet environment- definitely not the reality.

All of my flights overseas have been on military aircraft, although the quality of the ride depends on the airframe. KC-10, L-1011, and C-5 I'd rank as best- nice and smooth, very comparable to civilian flights. C-10 wasn't too bad either, although we were in seat pallets in the cargo bay. C-130 was ok- just loud with a lot of vibration, and the KC-135 has the aforementioned hot/cold issues that can make for a very uncomfortable flight. The 135 isn't too bad, however, if you can climb up on bins or baggage pallets above floor level where it's nice and toasty, perfect for a nice nap.

As to Integrity and her toilet issue, it's an unfortunate issue, but the description of the smell is one of electrical burning. That's perhaps not as unpleasant as a urine or feces smell, but it's worrying as there could be a more serious underlying problem, like a short somewhere, which could develop into a fire hazard, not to mention incapacitating the toilet. One hopes they're prepared for such an unsavory eventuality. Christina Koch is an electrical engineer, so it's extremely fortuitous for the crew that she's there, as she has the expertise to troubleshoot and hopefully repair whatever is causing the burning odor. That's my hope without further issues, at least from the toilet. This is one of those cases where simplicity may be preferable to an overly sophisticated piece of hardware that can break down spectacularly and irrevocably without the resources necessary to affect a proper repair. 

While they can vent their urine overboard (apparently the vent froze up and they had to rotate towards the sun to defrost it), apparently their poop makes the round trip with them. That seems odd to me, as exposure to space would desiccate it and they could just eject it overboard, too. Perhaps they want to limit the number of avenues for decompression, but I'd still think ejecting the fecal matter would be preferable to keeping it in a storage bin that could potentially develop a leak thus contaminating the interior of the capsule. 

Anyway, once they sort out the toilet, one hopes it'll maintain its, ahem, integrity. I'll see myself out.😁

[Big s]

Maybe they should just jiggle the handle 

[JB0]

Just a few minutes ago on the comms:

"Toilet is go for all uses."
"And the crew rejoices! Thank you!"

 

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

As to Integrity and her toilet issue, it's an unfortunate issue, but the description of the smell is one of electrical burning. That's perhaps not as unpleasant as a urine or feces smell, but it's worrying as there could be a more serious underlying problem, like a short somewhere, which could develop into a fire hazard, not to mention incapacitating the toilet. One hopes they're prepared for such an unsavory eventuality.

Ground looked through all the sensors available and didn't see any variances in voltage or current on any circuits that would indicate an electrical issue. They are obviously still looking, but they think it's probably not an electrical issue. 
Their current theory is it is an off-gassing problem from one of the materials used. A similar smell was apparently reported by assembly crew on the Artemis I capsule(we obviously have no idea if that smell was observable in-flight). 

[M'Kyuun]

Hopefully for the crew the noted smell is as innocuous as an off-gassing of some material. I suppose different materials react to low or zero-G differently depending on their molecular makeup, and I hope that's the case here without detriment. They have enough to worry about without their space crapper causing issues. Digits crossed they have a smooth, uneventful flight going forward. Hopefully they'll get some great photos of the south pole and dark side, with some Floyd playing in the background for ambience.

[JB0]

New human altitude record. They've just passed Apollo 13's high water mark, and are now higher than anyone has ever been.

[Thom]

1 hour ago, JB0 said:

...and are now higher than anyone has ever been.

And the cries of the members of the Mary Jane Association arose in riotous outrage! 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 6 by Thom

[Big s]

1 hour ago, JB0 said:

New human altitude record. They've just passed Apollo 13's high water mark, and are now higher than anyone has ever been.

Maybe they should put the blunts down and focus on the mission 

[505thAirborne]

This Album, especially this song is quite fitting for today's Artemis mission.