General

Space Station Showdown

Astronauts argue over use of gym facilities, toilets

Russian astronaut Gennady Padalka, 50, has complained that he’s no longer allowed to use a U.S. toilet or exercise bike, complaining this lack of sharing was hurting space morale. In an interview with a Russian newspaper, Padalka, who conducted his first mission in 1998, said he asked if he could use a U.S. gym before liftoff. “They told me: ‘Yes, you can.’ Then they said no,” he said, according to the BBC. “Then they hold consultations and they approve it again. And now, right before the flight, it turns out again that the answer is negative.” What’s more, new regulations require U.S. and Russian cosmonauts to eat their own rations, and “to only use national toilets,” the BBC quoted him as saying. Padalka blamed these changes on the commercialization of the International Space Station, as Moscow began billing Washington to send astronauts into space and other nations followed suit. What’s more, the number of astronauts on the ISS recently went from three to six.

BBC News

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