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Author
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Topic: [Orion] Crew waste collection and containment
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nasamad
Member Posts: 2185
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 04-08-2017 04:23 PM
   
When the orbiters were flying, the waste collection system had a door into a compartment for privacy, and had a vacuum system. Now the U.S. is going back to a capsule arrangement, will they be going back to the sticky plastic bags for fecal waste? And while male astronauts could possibly go back to wearing UCDs, what solution other than pads is available for the female astronauts? And what about the privacy aspect?
Have the solutions been published as I can't find any info? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 50516
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-08-2017 04:40 PM
Orion will be equipped with a miniature camping-style toilet and a unisex "relief tube" as used on the space shuttle and space station. Apollo-style bags will not be necessary, other than as a contingency. (And though it has been in the trade space due to weight concerns, I believe the current design includes a curtain for privacy.)That aside, NASA needed a solution for waste management in the case of a depressurization requiring the crew to return to Earth over the course of several days without the ability to doff their spacesuits. In February, NASA announced the winners of its Space Poop Challenge: What this challenge set out to crowdsource was a complete system inside a space suit that collects human waste for up to 144 hours and routes it away from the body, without the use of hands. The system had to operate in the conditions of space — where solids, fluids, and gases float around in microgravity (what most of us think of as "zero gravity") and don't necessarily mix or act the way they would on earth. No small task there. Ultimately, the system developed from this challenge will help keep astronauts alive and healthy over six days, or 144 hours. The winner, Air Force Col. Thatcher Cardon, designed a valve opening through which astronauts could insert various toilet devices to aid in waste extraction that could be easily operated while wearing a spacesuit glove. |
nasamad
Member Posts: 2185
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 04-09-2017 03:02 PM
Thanks Robert.I know it probably came across as a child's "How do you go to the toilet in space?" question, but I was bugged by the fact I couldn't find the info.  |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 50516
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-09-2017 03:47 PM
It's a question that gets asked often (and not just by children). You can be sure that before a crew launches on Orion, you'll be seeing it answered by NASA numerous times... |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3604
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-09-2017 05:10 PM
On any long flight (to Mars, to an asteroid, or a long-duration mission in lunar orbit) there will be an attached habitation module with less spartan "facilities." |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 50516
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-09-2017 08:34 PM
Sure, but as currently proposed, Orion may fly crews on missions to lunar orbit lasting nearly a month (21 to 26 days), without a habitat module (these missions would precede the habitat module being added to a "deep space gateway") such that Orion's facilities could see considerable use. |
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