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Not too long ago, the Inspiration4 mission put civilian astronauts into orbit for the first time. They went into orbit aboard a special Crew Dragon capsule which abandoned the docking equipment normally used to connect to the ISS in favor of a cupola that allowed astronauts to see space and the sea. Earth during their mission. In the area of the dome were also the toilets for the mission.
The Inspiration crew received training in the use of the space toilet during preparation for the mission. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has confirmed via Twitter that there are issues with the toilet without elaboration. We now know that during the mission the crew on board the flight had to deal with an alarm that went off, and this alarm had to do with the toilet.
Part of the crew’s training focused on how to deal with emergencies. They worked with the ground controllers to identify the cause of the problem. Going to the toilet in space is complex and without specialized equipment, the waste goes everywhere except the toilet, creating a dramatic mess and potentially causing illness among the crew.
The toilets installed aboard the Crew Dragon capsule have fans inside to ensure that waste goes where it is supposed to go. Alarms that went off during the mission indicated that one of the fans had a mechanical problem. SpaceX and Inspiraiton4 crew members made it clear that the toilet problem did not put the capsule or the crew at risk.
There were times during the mission when the crew of the spacecraft had no communication with the ground. In total, about 10 percent of the time, the crew had no communication and were able to operate smoothly thanks to their training. Going to the toilet in space is difficult and on Inspiration4 only a curtain separated the person using the toilet from the rest of the crew. Not ideal, but their bathroom had the best view of the universe thanks to the dome.
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