Does ISS have a Washiing Machine?

On Thu, 3 Jul 2003 10:21:17 +1000, "Blurrt"
wrote:

Seriously. You always hear talk about Life Support systems and experiments
and the like - but what about something as mundane as as washing machine?
Does ISS have one and if so does it also dry? And who makes it?

Odd question I know. I'm interested in how much one would weigh.

Nathan.

I think that personal clothing items are disposable. I'm not sure if
there is enough water on board to support this activity.

Regards,

Bob Bernatchez

"Jorge R. Frank" wrote
Right--clothing is made of paper, it's worn for about a week (IIRC)
then discarded.

Certain personal clothing items (like the Hawaiian shirt Ed Lu wore on his
birthday yesterday) can be stowed to be brought home with the next shuttle
flight. But yes, most of the clothing is disposable (not sure if they use
paper, though) and is packed into a Progress spacecraft to burn up on
entry.

I'm pretty sure I read, around the time of Exp-1, that paper was used.
Obviously, we're not talking about notebook paper. Probably more like
disposable hospital gowns like you'd wear in the ER, some of which *are*
paper.

On Thu, 3 Jul 2003 10:21:17 +1000, "Blurrt" wrote:

Seriously. You always hear talk about Life Support systems and experiments
and the like - but what about something as mundane as as washing machine?
Does ISS have one and if so does it also dry? And who makes it?

No, there's no washing machine, the clothes are pretty much disposable. The
crew wears their clothes for normal activities for a couple days, then those
clothes are used when working out. Then the grungy clothes are dumped into the
Progress as trash.

On Thu, 03 Jul 2003 04:48:10 GMT, "Michael R. Grabois ... change $ to \"s\""
wrote:

On Thu, 3 Jul 2003 10:21:17 +1000, "Blurrt" wrote:

Seriously. You always hear talk about Life Support systems and experiments
and the like - but what about something as mundane as as washing machine?
Does ISS have one and if so does it also dry? And who makes it?

No, there's no washing machine, the clothes are pretty much disposable. The
crew wears their clothes for normal activities for a couple days, then those
clothes are used when working out. Then the grungy clothes are dumped into the
Progress as trash.

Check out
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/.../ndxpage4.html
The last video on the page is of Sox doing some wash!
-
Brian Heil (319) 335-0675 | Stay Alert! | Technology Services
Senior Programmer Analyst | Trust No One! | University of Iowa
| Keep Your Laser Handy | College of Business

Don't have one. Need one. Need a good way to bathe, too. Apparently the
whole place is taking on the odor of a grungy locker room.

If you're an inventor - go for it - this is something they need.

Kim

"jeff findley" wrote in message
...
"K, T, E & N" writes:

Don't have one. Need one. Need a good way to bathe, too. Apparently
the
whole place is taking on the odor of a grungy locker room.

If you're an inventor - go for it - this is something they need.

NASA has already looked into this. There are lots of complex, system
wide, engineering trade-offs involved. For the time being, it's
easier to send up clean clothes and throw them away when they get too
dirty to wear.


Seems that if they want to head for Mars they'd better get to work on one!

"K, T, E & N" wrote in
:

Don't have one. Need one. Need a good way to bathe, too. Apparently
the whole place is taking on the odor of a grungy locker room.

Fortunately, microgravity causes body fluids to distribute evenly
throughout the body, rather than pooling in the lower body. This can cause
nasal congestion and a desensitized sense of smell. Even the last Americans
to visit the aging Mir space station reported the odor was tolerable. One
astronaut said it smelled like an old library; another compared it to a
cellar.

If you're an inventor - go for it - this is something they need.

Not really - sponge baths and disposable clothes are far more practical.


--
JRF

Reply-to address spam-proofed - to reply by E-mail,
check "Organization" (I am not assimilated) and
think one step ahead of IBM.

IT did as part of the US HAB, provided by ESA as a part of the barter deal
for Columbis launch

Cheers!

Bit

"Hallerb" wrote in message
...

If you're an inventor - go for it - this is something they need.

Not really - sponge baths and disposable clothes are far more practical.

Besides for microgravity research the less vibration the better.

"bitflip" wrote in message
...
IT did as part of the US HAB, provided by ESA as a part of the barter deal
for Columbis launch

Cheers!

Bit


Oh. Any links? I'll try a google search.

Ta.
Blurrt





"Hallerb" wrote in message
...

If you're an inventor - go for it - this is something they need.

Not really - sponge baths and disposable clothes are far more
practical.

Besides for microgravity research the less vibration the better.

Found an interesting link.

http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-laundry.asp

"Blurrt" wrote in message
u...

"bitflip" wrote in message
...
IT did as part of the US HAB, provided by ESA as a part of the barter
deal
for Columbis launch

Cheers!

Bit


Oh. Any links? I'll try a google search.

Ta.
Blurrt





"Hallerb" wrote in message
...

If you're an inventor - go for it - this is something they need.

Not really - sponge baths and disposable clothes are far more
practical.

Besides for microgravity research the less vibration the better.