SpaceX Astronauts Will Not Have Working Toilet on Flight Home It is not clear how long the four astronauts will be on the capsule without a working toilet.
By Entrepreneur Staff •
The four astronauts on SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule will need to use "undergarments" to relieve themselves on their trip home from the International Space Station, according to Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager. The problem, he said Friday, is the spacecraft's bathroom.
Two other Crew Dragon capsules have returned from the International Space Station with people on board. One of them took 19 hours to return. The other took six.
Related: SpaceX Crew-3 Launch Pushed Back
It is not clear how long the four astronauts -- NASA's Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, the European Space Agency's Thomas Pesquet and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide -- will be on the capsule without a working toilet.
Per CNN, the issue with the toilet was first identified during the Inspiration4 mission in September. When the issue arrises, it is because the tube that transfers urine becomes unglued, allowing it to find its way away from the designated storage tank in the microgravity environment.
A new Crew Dragon capsule, called Endurance, is slated to take an additional four astronauts to space on Wednesday.
It will have the toilet fix built in, according to CNN.
