Purified Urine To Be Astronauts Drinking Water

http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre4ad3mb-us-space-shuttle/
....
It's a water-recycling device that will process the crew's urine for communal consumption.
"We did blind taste tests of the water," said NASA's Bob Bagdigian, the system's lead engineer. "Nobody had any strong objections. Other than a faint taste of iodine, it is just as refreshing as any other kind of water."
"I've got some in my fridge," he added. "It tastes fine to me."
Delivery of the $250 million wastewater recycling gear is among the primary goals of NASA's 124th shuttle mission, which is due to launch at 7:55 p.m. EST on Friday (0055 GMT on Saturday) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

I used to work on that project and I know Bob. I was strictly a donor and never a taste tester. They also purify sweat. There was a workout room that was sealed and when you went in you would put on one of their white t-shirts to work out in. Once you finished your workout you hung the shirt up in an adjacent room to air dry. The moisture was collected and went in to the system. They also had you wash your hands in that room and collected the soapy/dirty water for recycling.

I predict a "less filling, tastes great" commercial in there somewhere.

We all drink purified piss. The astronauts are just getting the results of a much faster process than nature uses.

DaveNay said:

We all drink purified piss. The astronauts are just getting the results of a much faster process than nature uses.

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Dave, I actually hate to tell you this, seeing that I'm from Wisconsin and you're from Illinois.

As you know, Wisconsin has hills and bluffs. Illinois is known here as "the flatlands." Any liquid flows downhill.

I have long suspected that the reason we have so many Illinois tourists is simply that they require fresh water. Now, don't get mad about this. It's not my idea. Here's a part of history:

More than 50 years ago, Vince Lombardi started to have problems with angina. His coronary specialist told him to start relieving some of the stress in his life.

Coach Lombardi took the advice, and moved to Chicago. He felt it prudent to get away from professional football.

(To the rest of the forum, Wis and Ill guys do this all of the time. It's the reason why we wear styrofoam cheese hats. Ill guys called us "cheeseheads" for quite some time.)

You're not picking on the FIBs are you?










(They can't help it. It's in the water.)




.

Av8r3400 said:

You're not picking on the FIBs are you?

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LOL. Heck, no. With the economy in the dumper we need every tourist we can get!

I look at it this way. The guys from Ill have "Obama money." He was their representative.

So when a flatlander hands me a knife to sharpen, I figure Obama is actually paying me. I like that idea.

Av8r3400 said:

You're not picking on the FIBs are you?










(They can't help it. It's in the water.)




.

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Screw you Cheddar Head!!!!!

Deadly Sushi said:

Screw you Cheddar Head!!!!!

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...and this is why I never miss a Bears/Packers game...

It's all about the love.

Deadly Sushi said:

Screw you Cheddar Head!!!!!

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Thank you. I take that for the compliment that it is.



(BBBUUUUUUUUURRRRNN!)

We have a very similar situation where I live. Our sewar treatment plant is basically running at full capacity all the time. We have this little creek that runs right through town right past the treatment center. When we get heavy rains, the system can't handle the excess water and the raw sewage overflows into that creek and into our local lake. This is where it gets interesting.

The town where I live and the town where I work in 30 miles away have always had kind of a rivalry going. Well, when our sewage overflows into the lake, the lake runs into a river system that goes right into the neighbouring town where they have their water intake for their town water. So we joke about how everytime we flush the toilet where I live, it flows down river into their drinking water.