Bummer: returning SpaceX astronauts stuck using diapers after toilet breaks down
- Astronauts had pulled up panels in their capsule to find pools of urine from a leak
- The flight home from the International Space Station has been delayed more than a week by bad weather and an undisclosed medical issue involving one of the crew
The astronauts who will depart the International Space Station on Sunday will be stuck using diapers on the way home because of their capsule’s broken toilet.
Nasa astronaut Megan McArthur on Friday described the situation as “suboptimal” but manageable. She and her three crewmates will spend 20 hours in their SpaceX capsule, from the time the hatches are closed until Monday morning’s planned splashdown.
“Spaceflight is full of lots of little challenges,” she said during a news conference from orbit. “This is just one more that we’ll encounter and take care of in our mission. So we’re not too worried about it.”
After a series of meetings on Friday, mission managers decided to bring McArthur and the rest of her crew home before launching their replacements. That SpaceX launch already had been delayed more than a week by bad weather and an undisclosed medical issue involving one of the crew.
SpaceX is now targeting liftoff for Wednesday night at the earliest.
French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who will return with McArthur, told reporters that the past six months have been intense up there.