Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are working to repair one of the two toilet systems on the orbiting space station after it failed earlier on Sunday, NASA said.

"Earlier today, the US Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) was shut down after a malfunction," NASA said. "About six litres of pre-treat flush water is believed to have flowed into the pump separator and into other areas it should not be."

The toilet malfunction comes after a seven-person crew aboard the space shuttle Endeavour arrived at the space station, bringing the total number of people on the ISS to a record 13.

Kylie Clem, a spokesperson for the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, told AFP that two crew members were working to fix the toilet system.

"They have the spare parts in orbit to fix it," she said. "They are working on it now to hopefully resolve it in the next day or so. It is not an issue, at least in the near term."

There are two remaining toilet systems available for the moment — the second ISS facility and a system aboard the space shuttle Endeavour

AFP

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