One of Elon Musk’s SpaceX space crafts reportedly had a major leakage problem from its onboard toilet but the crew didn’t even notice.
The incident is said to have happened during Inspiration4’s three-day journey around the Earth last month.
SpaceX vice president, William Gerstenmaier, revealed the rather unsanitary incident during a recent interview with the New York Times, where he said that the bodily fluids from the astronauts on board had leaked out of the toilet so much that it had begun to collect underneath the floor panels of the capsule.
Perhaps fortunately, the leakage didn't appear to have made too much of a smell as those onboard didn't even discover what had happened until they touched back down on Earth.
"We didn't really even notice it, the crew didn't even notice it, until we got back, said Gerstenmaier adding "when we got the vehicle back, we looked under the floor and saw the fact that there was contamination underneath the floor of Inspiration4."
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The problem apparently occurred simply because a tube became unplugged, causing the fluids to come gushing out and pool under the panels. SpaceX has since fixed the problem of welding on a urine-flushing tube to the toilet, which NASA is expected to approve by Friday as the company are using the same toilet design for Sunday's Crew-3 flight to the International Space Station.
CNN has reported that the alarm had gone off on the craft while it was in orbit which the craft's system warning the crew that it was a "significant issue." The issue was indeed the leaking toilet which luckily for the astronauts doesn't appear to have caused a major problem or stink.
The same plumbing issue could have affected the Endeavour capsule which was used on SpaceX's Crew-2 mission to the ISS in April 2020 and is currently docked there until 4 November.
