The Most Expensive Bathroom Ever Created: The Space Toilet
Think your luxury bathroom renovation cost a pretty penny? Then you need to lay your eyes on easily the most expensive bathroom ever: the space toilet. This zero gravity toilet designed for space shuttles was bought by NASA from Russia for $19 million for the international space station. That may seem like an astronomical sum for a commode, but considering how much brand new technology had to be developed and implemented, it would’ve actually cost much more for the U.S. government to create its own space toilet. This latest space age (literally) bathroom has been shared amongst 13 astronauts and cosmonauts and is an improvement on previous space toilets in that it offers more privacy and has a surprising water conservation feature that we’ll talk about later.
Because these toilets are used in space, there are some special considerations, both in how the toilet works and how it’s used.
Strapping In
Gravity is more useful in the bathroom than you may have expected. For instance, it keeps you on the toilet. In space, without the luxury of gravity, astronauts have to literally strap themselves to the toilet using ankle straps and thigh braces. Otherwise, they’d float away!
Vacuum Powered
You may have heard that toilets flush clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere (which may or may not be true), but what direction do they flush in space? The answer: they don’t. Space toilets are completely vacuum powered. The vacuum both serves to move waste into storage as well as kill bacteria to control odor.
Aim Carefully
Because space toilets are vacuum powered without water, accuracy is extremely important. To help you hit your mark, there are cameras in the commode that help you aim.
Waste Not
Space shuttles are like little self-contained ecosystems and nothing can go to waste. You may remember in the movie Apollo 13 when liquid waste was jettisoned into space, but today’s space toilets are geared more towards recycling and conservation. Liquid waste is distilled by the space shuttle into purified water that’s suitable for drinking (though most astronauts prefer not to!). In most cases, the recycled water is used in the Electron unit, which separates the liquid into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is expelled into space while the oxygen is added to the atmosphere in the shuttle. So, if you don’t drink recycled waste, you end up breathing it. Still want to be an astronaut when you grow up?
Robert Thirsk – Space Plumber
Move over Mario Brothers, there’s a new super plumber in town. Robert Thirsk, a Canadian astronaut, has the honor saving the day with his space plumbing when the $19 million space toilet broke down. The toilet flooded one fateful Sunday, prompting Mission Control to advise that the astronauts hang an “out of order” sign on the door. Thirsk and a few other astronauts worked round the clock to get it up and running again. Coincidentally, Thirsk’s heroic repair was completed on July 20, 2009 – the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing.
So, what lessons have learned from the multimillionaire space toilet? Here are a few:
- Commodes don’t have to talk up a lot of room – the less room the toilet takes up, the more room you have to decorate, expand your bathroom vanity or make way for a whirlpool or air tub.
- Space age technology’s got to be green – while we don’t recommend recycling liquid waste in your own home, a low-flow toilet or a gray water toilet that uses shower water to flush is a good start!
- Even expensive bathroom fixtures breakdown – find a good plumber and keep him on speed dial! Also, it wouldn’t hurt to have a spare bathroom – just in case.
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