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Astronauts' Drinking Water To Be Purified Urine

Posted on: Friday, 14 November 2008, 12:55 CST

NASA will be sending a water-recycling device to the International Space Station on Friday that will process the crew's urine for communal consumption.

The move comes as the space agency prepares to double the number of astronauts living aboard the Space Station. The machine will be launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on Friday.

NASA's Bob Bagdigian, the system's lead engineer, said they performed blind taste tests of the water and nobody had any strong objections other than a faint taste of iodine.

"It is just as refreshing as any other kind of water. I've got some in my fridge," he added. "It tastes fine to me."

NASA's 124th shuttle mission is due to launch at 7:55 p.m. EST on Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. And delivery of the $250 million wastewater recycling gear is among the mission’s primary goals.

Pending no technical issues, NASA managers told the launch team on Friday morning to fuel the shuttle for liftoff, a three-hour operation to pump 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the spaceship's tank for the 8.5-minute climb into orbit.

Without any hitches, the shuttle should arrive at the space station on Sunday so astronauts could begin 11 to 12 days of home improvements.

Endeavour will also be carrying two small bedrooms, the station's first refrigerator, new exercise gear, and perhaps most important for a growing crew - a second toilet.

"With six people you really do need to have a two-bathroom house. It's a lot more convenient and a lot more efficient," said Endeavour astronaut Sandra Magnus, who will take over as a space station flight engineer from Greg Chamitoff, who’s been aboard the outpost since June.

NASA wants to make sure the water recycling system is working well before adding another three astronauts to the station's crew.

Once NASA retires its space shuttle program — which produce water as a byproduct of their electrical systems — reusing water will become essential. Rather than dumping the water overboard, NASA has been transferring it to the space station.

But only 10 shuttle flights remain, including a final servicing call to the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA says it will end the program in 2010, leaving only the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to take crew to the space station.

Space station flight director Ron Spencer said recycling is a must since they can't be delivering water all the time for crew.

NASA expects the new device to process about six gallons (23 liters) of water per day with. They hope to recover about 92 percent of the water from the crew's urine and moisture in the air.

The wastewater is processed using an extensive series of purification techniques, including distillation, filtration, oxidation, and ionization.

Bagdigian said the final ingredient is the addition of iodine to control microbial growth. He added that the device is intended to process a full day's worth of wastewater in less than 24 hours.

"Today's drinking water was yesterday's waste," Bagdigian said.

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Image Caption: At NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the rotating service structure protecting space shuttle Endeavour on Pad A was rolled away in preparation for launch. Photo credit: NASA/KSC

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On the Net:

• STS-126

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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