Moscow, June 14: The US space agency NASA was forced to spend a whopping USD 19 million on a new toilet in their section of International Space Station (ISS), after repeated breakdown of the American lavatory due to "rich diet" of Russian cosmonauts.
Cosmonauts from both the countries had been using each others' toilets, but the American astronauts recently denied access to their Russian colleagues to their lavatory, sparking a 'space scandal' between the two former Cold War rivals.
"The US astronauts were sick and tired of toilet breakdowns and unpleasant odours. NASA was eventually forced to order a toilet system from Russia. US tax payers paid USD 19 million for the space toilet. The new construction was installed in the US segment of the ISS," Pravda.ru website reported.
The daily ration of Russian cosmonauts is wholesome - more savoury, more natural and more diverse resulting in thicker "outcome", while the US space ration, equally nutritious, but low calorie, results in softer waste and this difference could have ruined the US space toilet after visits by the Russians, the report said.
Russia makes the best space toilets in the world. The system is designed for both men and women. Urine is accumulated in a special reservoir, in which it is concentrated with a special solution. The processed liquid can later be recycled for the crew's requirements.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, June 14, 2009, 18:17