Nov 9, 2008 12:51 pm US/Eastern
International Space Station To Get A "Makeover"
CAPE CANAVERAL (CBS4) ―
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Space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. on March 11, 2008.
AP
When the space shuttle Endeavor blasts off on Friday night, it will be carrying all the comforts of home to the international space station plus some 'green' improvements.
Perhaps the most important improvement, according to Endeavour's commander, Christopher Ferguson, will be the water recovery system which will turn urine and condensation into fresh drinking water. He said the benefits go way beyond the space station "think of all the deep-space exploration made possible once crews are freed of lugging water."
"This is really it, and it has no parallel. I would challenge you to find any other system on the Earth that recycles urine into drinkable water. It's such a repulsive concept that nobody would even broach it," said Ferguson.
Astronaut Donald Pettit, a former space station resident who will help hook up the system, looks at it as one big coffee machine.
"It's going to take yesterday's coffee and make it into today's coffee," Pettit said.
According to NASA the system is to increase the size of the space station crew from three to six. If everything goes well, the space station will open its doors to six full-time residents next May or June.
In addition to the water system, astronauts will be installing an extra toilet, more sleeping compartments with individual thermostats and laptop hookups, and an exercise machine. The astronauts on board the space station are quite excited about getting a second refrigerator that will be part of a new kitchenette. Fresh food like apples or onions that go up on Russian supply ships or NASA's shuttles have to be eaten quickly since the lone refrigerator currently on the station is restricted to science experiments only.
The shuttle crew will also be delivering the essentials of NASA's first attempt at a closed-loop environmental system in orbit, where almost everything gets recycled. Already, the power on the space station is generated from solar panels.
In addition to the internal improvements, Endeavour's astronauts will also tackle a greasy, grimy job on the outside. Three of the crew will take turns cleaning and lubricating a jammed solar-wing rotating joint; it's clogged with metal shavings from grinding parts and hasn't worked right for more than a year.
Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to lift off Friday, November 14th, around 8 p.m.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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