SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour (bottom middle) and a visiting uncrewed Cargo Dragon supplier ship (foreground), can be seen docked at International Space Station's Harmony Module in September 2021.
Next month, the next SpaceX Dragon astronauts won't have access to a vital system: the space potty.
NASA officials announced late Friday, Oct. 29, that SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour toilet will be closed to Crew-2 mission astronauts when they leave the International Space Station in November. This is due to a possible urine leakage in the toilet, similar to one that was discovered on SpaceX's all-civil Inspiration4 flight in September. SpaceX has since changed the toilet design to prevent future leaks.
"Our intention is not to use the system for the return leg home due to what we've seen with fluids we're talking about," Steve Stitch (NASA's Commercial Crew program manager) said Friday during a prelaunch briefing for SpaceX’s Crew-3 astronaut launch. This launch is now scheduled for next week. We have other options to enable the crew to carry out the functions they require."
What are the alternatives? A "undergarment" to manage waste that astronauts use when they are clad in spacesuits for launches or landings.
Live updates: SpaceX's Crew-3 mission for NASA to the space station
Continue reading: SpaceX's Crew-3 Astronaut Launch Online
Thomas Pesquet, an astronaut from the European Space Agency, shared this photo of Crew Dragon's toilet via Twitter when he flew to the International Space Station aboard the Endeavour Dragon in April 2021. (Image credit: Thomas Pesquet)
Steve Stitch stated, "Whenever the crew is suit they wear an undergarment in that suits. It's a short mission returning home." It's quite common for crew members to wear an undergarment, and they can continue using it on their return journey. He added that it's been a backup in case of any spaceflight.
NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough (NASA) and Meghan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Thomas Pesquet from the European Space Agency are the Crew-2 astronauts. NASA officials announced late Friday that they were due to return to Earth on Nov. 4, after having a splashdown off Florida.
This landing date could change due to NASA and SpaceX delaying the Crew-2's rescue mission Crew-3 until Nov. 2, because of bad weather. After a handover with their new crewmates, the Crew-2 astronauts will be back.
Related: SpaceX's Inspiration4 private astronauts experienced toilet problems in space
Stitch stated that NASA and SpaceX have collaborated to reduce the time taken by a Dragon crew for return to Earth from the space station.
It took SpaceX's first crewed spacecraft, Demo-2, just over 19 hours to return to Earth after undocking from its station. SpaceX's recovery team reached the crew shortly after they landed. SpaceX's Crew-1 splashdown in May this year reduced that time to under 6.5 hours. SpaceX recovery teams are aiming to remove a crew member from their capsule within one hour of splashdown.
Stitch stated that they are trying to minimize the time between undocking and landing.
SpaceX and NASA remain focused on the Crew-3 mission, the next astronaut flight to orbit. The original launch date for the flight was Oct. 31. It is now set to launch Nov. 3 from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff will take place at 1:10 AM EDT (0510 GMT).
This mission will send NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Tom Marshburn, Kayla Baron, and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer to the space station on their six-month journey. The Crew Dragon Endurance, which is a brand new Dragon capsule, will be their launch vehicle. Crew-2's Endeavour capsule, which is an older capsule, is currently flying its second crewed mission.
Space.com will allow you to live-stream the Crew-3 launch, which NASA TV and SpaceX will be hosting. It starts on Tuesday, November 2, at 8:45 PM EDT (0045 GMT).
Tariq Malik can be reached at tmalik@space.com, or on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom on Facebook and Instagram.
