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See a glow in the night sky? It may have been astronaut urine

By | September 16, 2009, 11:32 AM PDT

If you noticed an unusual glow in the sky last Wednesday, it wasn’t a shooting star — it was astronauts’ urine.

The glow was the result of the space shuttle Discovery releasing an unusually large amount of water and urine into outer space.

Unusually large as in 150 lbs., according to Space.com.

Why did Discovery drop its waste payload? According to a NASA spokeswoman in the article, it’s the result of recent restrictions on waste disposal while the space shuttle is docked with the International Space Station.

Which leaves one simple question: what happens when you release pee in space?

Liquids released into space apparently freeze as tiny ice shards first. Once the sun’s rays strike, the ice sublimates into vapor and disperses into space.

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Andrew Nusca

About Andrew Nusca

Andrew Nusca is editor of SmartPlanet.

Andrew Nusca

Andrew Nusca

Editor

Andrew Nusca is editor of SmartPlanet and an associate editor for ZDNet. Previously, he worked at Money, Men's Vogue and Popular Mechanics magazines. He holds degrees from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and New York University. He based in New York but resides in Philadelphia.

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Andrew Nusca

Andrew Nusca
Andrew Nusca does not hold any investments in the companies he covers.
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Rather stupid of them
They really should have a ion driver and utilize waste as propellant mass. They could conceiveably piss their way into a higher orbit.
Posted by Dr_Zinj
17th Sep 2009
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