CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The astronauts who will depart the Worldwide Area Station as early as this weekend can be caught utilizing diapers on the way in which house due to their capsule’s damaged bathroom.
NASA astronaut Megan McArthur described the state of affairs Friday as “suboptimal” however manageable.
“Spaceflight is filled with plenty of little challenges,” she mentioned throughout a information convention from orbit. “This is only one extra that we’ll encounter and maintain in our mission. So we’re not too frightened about it.”
Mission managers may resolve later Friday whether or not to deliver McArthur and her three crewmates again of their SpaceX capsule earlier than launching their replacements. That launch already has been delayed greater than per week by unhealthy climate and an undisclosed medical challenge involving one of many crew.
French astronaut Thomas Pesquet informed reporters that the previous six months have been intense up there. The astronauts performed a sequence of spacewalks to improve the station’s energy grid, endured inadvertent thruster firings by docked Russian autos that despatched the station into temporary spins, and hosted a non-public Russian movie crew — an area station first.
Additionally they needed to cope with the bathroom leak, pulling up panels of their SpaceX capsule and discovering swimming pools of urine. The issue was first famous throughout SpaceX’s non-public flight in September, when a tube got here unglued and spilled urine beneath the floorboards. SpaceX fastened the bathroom on the capsule awaiting liftoff, however deemed the one in orbit unusable.
Engineers decided that the capsule had not been structurally compromised by the urine and was protected for the journey again.
On the culinary aspect, the astronauts grew the primary chile peppers in area — “a pleasant ethical enhance,” based on McArthur. They received to pattern their harvest up to now week, including items of the inexperienced and pink peppers to tacos.
“They’ve a pleasant spiciness to them, just a little little bit of a lingering burn,” she mentioned. “Some discovered that extra troublesome than others.”
Additionally returning with McArthur and Pesquet: NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. SpaceX launched them to the area station on April 28.
One American and two Russians will stay on the area station following their departure. Whereas it could be higher if their replacements arrived first — with a purpose to share tips about dwelling in area — Kimbrough mentioned the remaining NASA astronaut will fill within the newcomers.
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