Who Knew this Goes on in Space

I didn't

Officials relieved by urine-to-water results
Astronauts returning to Earth with quarts of recycled liquid for testing
By MARK CARREAU
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
After several days of false starts, new recycling gear aboard the international space station designed to reclaim drinking water from urine turned in an impressive performance on Tuesday.

The turnaround eased concerns among NASA officials that problems encountered during the early activation of the urine processor might slow their efforts to double the size of the crew aboard the orbital outpost in the spring.

"I feel we are right on track," said NASA's Mike Suffredini, the space station program manager. "If you asked me that two or three days ago, I might have given you a different answer."

The 15 nation, NASA-led partnership that operates the station intends to increase its permanent residents from three to six in late May. The shuttle Endeavour delivered a new kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and exercise equipment as well as the water recycler to the orbital facility on a flight that lifted off Nov. 14.

Until Tuesday, the operation of the water recovery system was in doubt because of problems with the urine processor, a key subsystem.

After a round of troubleshooting, the recycler was restarted late Monday. It made back-to-back 5-hour test runs, then operated continuously on Tuesday without the power spikes that had shut off the processor earlier.

"This is the new and improved international space station," Mike Fincke, the outpost's commander, declared in one exchange with Mission Control.

Earlier this week, NASA instructed Endeavour's astronauts to remain at the station an extra day to help with the troubleshooting.

The decision paid off. Endeavour will depart on Friday with a half dozen quart-sized samples of water reclaimed from combinations of urine, perspiration and other humidity collected from the station's air supply.

The fluid samples will be tested in NASA laboratories to verify the accuracy of a water treatment analyzer aboard the space station.

The space agency plans at least three months of recovery operations and testing before it declares the water safe enough to drink.


Repair plan being considered
Meanwhile, Mission Control carried out a three-hour test of the repairs to the station's solar power network carried out by the Endeavour's astronauts. During four outings outside the space station, the astronauts cleaned and lubricated rotational mechanisms that turn the solar panels on opposite end of the station.

During Tuesday's test, the right side panels exhibited none of the vibrations or signs of internal blockage first noted in September 2007. The undamaged left side panels showed a smooth operation, too.

The space agency is preparing a more extensive repair plan. However, if additional testing of the rotational mechanisms shows no further deterioration, repairs may not be necessary, Suffredini said.

Endeavour's astronauts are scheduled to land at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday at 12:18 p.m., CST.

The ship will return with Greg Chamitoff, who is ending a six-month tour at the station. Endeavour astronaut Sandra Magnus will take his place until late February.