Space Station's Urine-to-Water Recycler Encounters Problems...

Man, this story has Hangout written all over it. Let the one-liners begin!!




January 05, 2009
Space station's water recycler encounters new problems
NASA is once again trouble-shooting problems with a water recycling device aboard the international space station.

The device, which processes drinking water from urine, shut down on New Year's Eve.
The space agency is evaluating whether to send spare parts aboard the space shuttle Discovery next month or bring the device back to Earth for more analysis.

The source of the difficulties is a centrifuge, a component critical to distilling water from urine in the earliest stage of the purification process.

The urine processing assembly is part of a larger recycling apparatus that also reclaims and treats moisture in the atmosphere of the space station so that it can be consumed as well.

The water recycler was delivered to the space station in November aboard the shuttle Endeavour.

After the initial installation, astronauts encountered problems with the centrifuge, a slowdown in the spin rate accompanied by a rise in electrical current.

The symptoms returned New Year's Eve.

In November, the astronauts removed the centrifuge and altered mounting bolts to avoid an obstruction.

The device worked for several weeks.

Mission Control had not approved the recycled water for drinking. Endeavour's astronauts delivered the recycler, a new toilet, kitchen and two small bedrooms so the station can house more full-time astronauts.

The number of space station tenants is supposed to grow from three to six people in late May.

Discovery's astronauts are tentatively scheduled to lift off on Feb. 12 with the space station's fourth and final solar power module.


LINK