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NASA to Launch $23 Million Titanium Space Toilet

VOA News

   A flight carrying NASA's new $23 million titanium space toilet,
   designed as a better fit for female astronauts, failed to launch late
   Thursday and has another window Friday night.

   NASA tweeted late Thursday the launch was canceled about 2 minutes
   before liftoff "due to an unknown problem with a component of ground
   support equipment."

     To recap: Tonight's launch attempt for [1]@NorthropGrumman's Antares
     rocket to send the [2]#Cygnus resupply craft to the
     [3]@Space_Station was scrubbed about 2 minutes and 40 seconds before
     liftoff due to an unknown problem with a component of ground support
     equipment.
     -- NASA Wallops (@NASA_Wallops) [4]October 2, 2020

   Northrop Grumman, maker of the Antares rocket, said a Friday night
   launch from Wallops Island, Virigina, would be attempted, if engineers
   can solve the issue.

   Among the cargo heading to the International Space Station is a new
   toilet that is better designed for female astronauts to go No. 2, a
   NASA official said.

   The toilets currently on the ISS cater more toward men. But with more
   women joining the ranks, NASA set out to make a better toilet, tilting
   the seat and making it taller, said Melissa McKinley, the project
   manager at the Johnson Space Center.

   "Cleaning up a mess is a big deal. We don't want any misses or
   escapes," McKinley said.

   Also, the funnels have been redesigned so women can use the elongated
   and scooped-out funnels to urinate while sitting on the commode to
   defecate at the same time, McKinley said. Until now, it's been one or
   the other for female astronauts, she noted.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/northropgrumman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   2. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cygnus?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   3. https://twitter.com/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   4. https://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops/status/1311851621278781440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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