International Space Station's commode gets fixed

It's amazing how quickly humans can remedy problems when really placed in a bind, and rather than waiting for supplies to come up with Discovery next week, crew members aboard the International Space Station were able to solve their little dilemma already. Reportedly, cosmonauts were able to cure whatever was ailing the temporarily non-functioning john, enabling those stuck in space to urinate freely. Thankfully, the seven-year old toilet is due to be replaced with a fresh new one this Fall, and we'd say the replacement couldn't arrive soon enough.

[Aguiluz @ May 28th 2008 5:11PM]

Crisis Averted!

[OneLove @ May 28th 2008 5:25PM]

..but can it play?

[Abuzar @ May 28th 2008 7:09PM]

Last time I checked toilets couldn't play video games.

[Gorillamonk @ May 29th 2008 7:40AM]

I still want to see the Space Plumber!

[Low Ranked @ May 28th 2008 5:16PM]

Another press release stated that "the problem was due to a stubborn Klingon."

[IndiaTech @ May 28th 2008 10:08PM]

Don't blame the Klingons... It was all because of those Romulans!!!

[Scott @ May 28th 2008 5:18PM]

What happens when they flush?
Does it just shoot the poop at the sun?

[Low Ranked @ May 28th 2008 5:21PM]

NASA, being quite resourceful, has the waste material filtered to the crew's espresso machine.

[Scott @ May 28th 2008 5:25PM]

So its just like having starbucks here on earth then huh.... thats a nice thing they do for them : \

[Jaws @ May 28th 2008 5:26PM]

Lemme guess, its some sort of *bucks branded stuff... you really couldn't tell the difference anyways then. ;)

[OneLove @ May 28th 2008 5:29PM]

The problem was solved by flooding the toilet with neutrinos, creating a mini wormhole which sent the dark matter to the other side of the galaxy.

[Fred @ May 28th 2008 5:30PM]

The reason the toilet was broken was probably that the cash register on the other end ran out of tape.

[Derek @ May 28th 2008 5:48PM]

I doubt if it shoots it at the sun, but it might shoot it at Russia. In Communist Russia, poop shoots you!

[Derek @ May 28th 2008 5:50PM]

That's strange, my recent comment doesn't seem to either show my avatar or link to my Engadget profile...

[Low Ranked @ May 28th 2008 6:26PM]

I believe its actually branded as Starbutts™.

[Jaws @ May 28th 2008 5:27PM]

rats... Scott you beat me by a minute on that one. :(

[Scott @ May 28th 2008 5:33PM]

there are still a lot of bad poo shooting coffee making jokes left to be had : )

[OneLove @ May 28th 2008 5:31PM]

Who was the last one to use the toilet, did they say?

[MastrCake @ May 28th 2008 5:36PM]

Mister Chief was!!!

Or maybe it was Frank O'Connor...

[MastrCake @ May 28th 2008 5:37PM]

@Fred:

...

[MastrCake @ May 28th 2008 5:37PM]

Dangit... forgot the reply button

[Interpol @ May 28th 2008 5:47PM]

Sweet, looks like Number One can do Number Two again!

"Who does Number Two work for?" "That's right boy, show that turd who's boss!"

[Marcus Hesse @ May 28th 2008 6:03PM]

The new one will seriously include a new technology that re purifies their urine into drinking water...it cost like $18 million.

(gross?)

[Mr. B @ May 28th 2008 6:12PM]

Gross, yes... but you're dealing with people who are already cool with strapping themselves on rockets.

[Dave @ May 28th 2008 6:14PM]

What do you think happens to your flushed urine on earth? It gets purified into drinking water...

[Low Ranked @ May 28th 2008 6:28PM]

Normally, my drinking water gets filtered into urine.

[You @ May 28th 2008 6:14PM]

"This! Is how! We fix problem! On Russian! Space! Station!"

[J L @ May 28th 2008 6:42PM]

Zero gravity + toilet != good thing.

'Nuff said.

[muddyh2o @ May 28th 2008 7:28PM]

Don't underestimate the importance of a good plumber or just how much they depend upon your business.. Your poo and pee is their bread and butter.

I wonder if one of the cosmo/astronauts pulled the backside of his/her pants down a bit to create a good old plumber's crack / carpenter's cleavage.

Now this is good news coverage and just another reason why I luuuuuuv the engadget.

[paul @ May 28th 2008 8:07PM]

How in the fuck do you shower and/or pee up there? There's no gravity - your pee would just float up right into your mouth and eyes or something; and same with the shower. I guess, you could use high pressure shower heads to shoot the water at you but like, where does it go? Air-vacuum drain system or something?

OOOOHhhh. i wonder if they have those mechanical cow-udder milker thingys for dudes to stick on their wangs when they have to go? But then what would they do for chicks? This is the sort of thing that will keep me up tonight.

[rcappo @ May 28th 2008 8:50PM]

http://library.thinkquest.org/C006247F/English/shuttle1.html
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=205480
http://space.about.com/cs/spaceshuttles/a/bathroominspace.htm

It is a very common question, but it has be worked on. On the space station they recycle their water and compress the solids to get sent back to Earth. On the space shuttle they release the liquid into space.

[Sparky @ May 28th 2008 8:18PM]

Fixed. Good job!!!
At least NASA wasn't just going through the motions.

[Stem $ell @ May 28th 2008 8:29PM]

In space, no one can hear your stream...

[dcny @ May 28th 2008 11:20PM]

Why don't they have two toliets up there anyway, it doesnt matter how many people are there if it can brake it needs a backup imagine if they were on the moon,mars or going to moon, mars what would they do if they couldnt fix the only toliet.

[Sparky @ May 29th 2008 12:07AM]

Mars, etc.
You forgot the obvious reference to the seventh planet in our solar system.

[Jeffrey @ May 28th 2008 11:57PM]

@ you.
+1 for the Armageddon reference

[Candy @ May 29th 2008 7:31PM]

I laughed so hard when I heard Miles talk about this. What are they suppose to do till Saturday? What happensn if the shuttle gets delayed?
Wait till next month? Why so much money for a potty ? You know I have been depressed because of every thing in the news, But today I laughed. I gotta say you need Miles to report on more funny stuff like this. It just made my day. Thank You CNN. And Miles.

[smawhorter @ May 31st 2008 7:44AM]

I am reminded on the scene in "Christmas Vacation" where cousin Eddy proclaims, "Shitter's full!"

[Joe @ Jun 1st 2008 11:58AM]

Considering that it Cost 18 million for the can, how much does it cost per flush?