[imagesource: Inspiration4]
A toilet with a view is a thing of great beauty.
Towards the end of the Otter Trail, for example, there’s a raised loo that looks directly onto the ocean.
Pure bliss.
One would hope that the view from the toilet on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is also rather special, but we’ll get to that a bit later.
A week ago today, history was made when the all-civilian SpaceX mission launched, returning to Earth three days later without a hitch.
Scratch that – there was a hitch, and it had to do with the toilet.
This from Space:
“It was very clean mission from start to finish,” SpaceX’s Benji Reed, who leads human spaceflight programs, said during a post-flight news conference Saturday night.
“We had a couple of issues that we worked, we did work something on the Waste Management System, but that was worked [out] fine and, you know, the crew was happy and healthy.”
According to Reed, the problem involved the toilet’s suction fan, which is responsible for removing waste products.
When answering questions about the launch yesterday, Elon Musk also acknowledged that there were some toilet issues:
Definitely upgraded toilets 🙂 We had some challenges with it this flight.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 21, 2021
Not only was there a problem with the suction fan, but all the hype around the toilet with the world’s best view went down in flames.
Consider this, from Space, one day ahead of the launch:
The four Inspiration4 astronauts launching SpaceX’s first-ever all-civilian spaceflight this week will have arguably the best bathroom view in human history.
That’s because the toilet in their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is apparently on the ceiling… the company removed the traditional docking adaptor that is located at the nose of the spacecraft and replaced it with a glass dome.
The dome, called a cupola, is kind of a smaller, bubble version of the iconic seven-window observation dome on the International Space Station, providing astronauts with epic views of the planet below.
One of the crew, billionaire Jared Isaacman, is pictured in the cupola right up the top of the page, looking rather smug.
That image above also shows the cupola peaking out atop the spacecraft. Imagine a cup of coffee in the morning, the bowels stir, and that’s what awaits you?
Isaacman was excited about the prospect, saying “when people do inevitably have to use the bathroom, they’re going to have one hell of a view”.
Now, after the flight, Reed has outlined why that didn’t work out:
According to Reed, the forward hatch had to be closed while the facilities were in use, thus preventing a crewmember from looking out the massive window while taking care of business.
That means no sweeping views of Earth from space for astronauts using Dragon’s toilet.
Heartbreak.
Earlier this year, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet took a flight to the ISS on a Crew Dragon spacecraft and tweeted a photo of the toilet on his ride:
Here’s one of the most secret yet useful systems on the spacecraft… our toilet! There’s a curtain for privacy, and the rest is really just technicalities… let’s just say that the only advantage is the view. 😉 Shoutout to its designer @SpaceX! https://t.co/pL3lD2UGF6 pic.twitter.com/AbB3cCNe4Z
— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) April 25, 2021
It’s unclear exactly what the toilet facilities looked like on the most recent mission, but it’s good to know that improvements are set to be made.
Musk also said the next flight would have a small oven for heating food, as well as WiFi provided by Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet project.
Sort out the view, Elon. The rest can wait.
