Many people take it for granted, but in Space, going to the bathroom is not a minor effort. With a lack of gravity, engineers over the years have been refining the approach to make it work in space. NASA is ready to launch its latest version of the space toilet, Universal Waste Management System (UWMS).
NASA started to develop the next generation space toilet years ago. In a 2013 research paper and then later in the SBIR process to award a company to make UWMS, NASA explained the need for improved space restroom facilities and waste management. NASA expects the UWMS awards to reduce the mass of the toilet while providing increased crew comfort and performance.
How to go to the bathroom in space?
NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor does maintenance on the current U.S. space station toilet. Credit NASA
First, if NASA expects to send humans to Mars using current day technology, a round trip estimate is roughly 1,000 days. The current technology on the ISS does not recover any of the water from Human solid waste(feces). For the ISS, feces is stored for 1 to 3 months for later disposal during one of the visiting spacecraft return to Earth.
NASA explained that Human solid waste contains about 75% water by mass. These feces represent approximately 170 g per crew member per day of recoverable water. A crew of 4 on a 1,000-day mission would amass 680 kg of lost water. UWMS aims to close that gap and recover that water currently being sent back on visiting spacecraft. What is the magical new technology to make this possible? The urine pretreatment dose pump/pretreatment quality indication device enables water recovery from urine.
Aside from water recovery, the question remains, what to do with all the dehydrated crap that is left over? NASA seeks to stabilize the feces. Water removal represents the first step in stabilization. In addition, odor control technology is needed for use on long duration human exploration missions to Moon and Mars. Think about it, NASA could just dump overboard the byproducts, but then some future mission might run into the fecal remains and damage a spaceship.
NASA intends to install and test the new space toilet on the International Space Station before sending astronauts into deep space with toilets. The UWMS will remain on ISS for an extended demonstration until the end of ISS life after the initial technology demonstration period completes.
The new toilet also provides additional capabilities for the ISS. With the launch of Crew Dragon and the upcoming launch of the Boeing Starliner, NASA plans to increase the number of crew on the ISS concurrently. NASA expects the ISS UWMS demonstration will validate the hygienic collection technology of urine and feces. The ISS UWMS technology demonstration also provides the ability to pretreat urine and deliver it to the ISS urine processor.
A second UWMS unit will be built to fly on the Orion spacecraft Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) mission.
How much did the toilet cost? Who makes space toilets?
Some people will probably balk at this contract price. According to https://govtribe.com/award/federal-idv-award/indefinite-delivery-contract-80jsc019d0005 NASA awarded Federal Contract IDV 80JSC019D0005 to Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International, Inc. in the amount of $16.5 million with an additional $1.3 million for engineering support.
Contract award details: Delivery Order 80JSC019D0005-80JSC019F0043 is a Firm Fixed Price Federal Contract Award. It was awarded to Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International, Inc. on Dec 6, 2018. The delivery order is funded by the Johnson Space Center (NASA). The potential value of the award is $16,480,749. The NAICS Category for the award is 541330 – Engineering Services. The PSC Category is 1555 – Space Vehicles. DELIVER THE UNIVERSAL WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (UWMS) FOR TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS). PROVIDE SUSTAINING ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THREE YEARS OF UWMS OPERATIONS.
Over the years of human occupation of the space station, operational knowledge of how to use space toilets increased. UWMS aims to implement improvements in the design of toilets and waste management systems. The newest system incorporates the best features from older designs used on the space shuttle and existing International Space Station. UWMS also incorporates newer technology to improve hygiene, crew comfort, and sustainability. Astronauts also will now have improved privacy because of the designs double stall enclosure that provides privacy for a Toilet System and a Hygiene Compartment.
About The Author
Bill D’Zio
Co-Founder at WestEastSpace.com
Bill founded WestEastSpace.com after returning to China in 2019 to be supportive of his wife’s career. Moving to China meant leaving the US rocket/launch industry behind, as the USA and China don’t see eye to eye on cooperation in space. Bill has an engineering degree and is an experienced leader of international cross-functional teams with experience in evaluating, optimizing and awarding sub-contracts for complex systems. Bill has worked with ASME Components, Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) for use in launch vehicles, satellites, aerospace nuclear, and industrial applications.
Bill provides consulting services for engineering, supply chain, and project management.
Reference:
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20130011635.pdf
https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/a/artemis-program
