Next Generation Space Toilets

Collins Aerospace has a rich history in space toilets from the shuttle days to current solutions for the International Space Station (ISS) and will continue to make history with the near future evolution for Orion. Toilets will continue to be needed in an expanding number of space applications including commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) stations, crewed vehicles, cislunar and cis-Martian stations, and lunar and Martian surfaces. With the ongoing privatization of space, the next generation of space exploration will have different needs. For example, different levels of toilet features might be needed for short duration LEO vs. longer deep space missions, or trained professional scientists vs. tourists. The next generation commode needs to be a modularized, need-based solution tailorable for length of stay, crew size and training capability. It also needs to better address challenges identified by the current space toilet architecture including cost and noise, and optimize for other important factors such as resource recovery and waste processing & handling. Some key areas for advancement are reducing cost and improving comfort. Cost, while always important, becomes critical in order to capture commercial opportunities. Reducing startup and operating costs by implementing new technologies will enable Collins to make business cases more viable. Similarly, comfort is an important area for improvement. As the array of individuals traveling in space increases, so will the acceptable baseline level of comfort. This paper will explore different internal efforts to address these gaps and showcase the flexible technology offerings across the space toilet market.