Relief in space: cosmonaut fixes faulty station toilet

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A cosmonaut-turned-space plumber fixed the only toilet at the International Space Station on Wednesday, bringing relief at the orbiting outpost one week after it began to malfunction.

While nine other astronauts worked on their own space projects, cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko toiled away in the Russian Zvezda module for more than two hours to replace a toilet pump.

"It appears to have been successful. Three separate tests of the pump indicated normal operations," a NASA television commentator said.

Moscow Mission Control has given the station crew a "go" to use the facility again, the US space agency said on its website.

The replacement pump was brought aboard the US shuttle Discovery, which arrived at the station with seven astronauts...