Part IX: Day-to-Day Life in Outer Space

by KYW's Michelle Durham

Once an astronaut crew successfully lifts off in the space shuttle and docks at the International Space Station, what is life in space like?  Especially the, uh...necessary things?

Astronaut -- and Philadelphia native -- Chris Ferguson gave me a full explanation during a tour of the ISS crew compartment simulator at the Johnson Space Center.

For starters, Ferguson says, the food has come a long way from the early days of space exploration:

"Gone are the days where we squeeze moosh out of a toothpaste tube. It's all pretty good right now."

And how do all the astronauts fit in the mid-deck of the shuttle for a meal together?

"You think, 'How in the world do you fit 10 people in here?' But that corner (pointing) is a really good place to have a dinner. You just kind of float there, maybe even upside down, and enjoy your dinner."

And sleeping?

"You actually use these really cool sleeping bags -- it's like camping. You usually velcro it or strap it, by any one of these means, anywhere.  We have people sleeping on the ceiling -- you have an upside down and a rightside up person..."

And, on a more delicate subject, Ferguson says the space potty has a hose with "male" and "female" adapters to take the liquid where it needs to go:

"There's actually a gentle breeze inside this hose that pulls urine into a holding tank. It's mixed with condensate from the atmosphere, and we dump it into space."

But what are those metal bars that go across your legs when you are sitting on the space potty?

"There are certain moments where you don't want to go floating away -- that happens to be one of them."