Technically, it’s not really “in the World”. It’s the new human waste elimination appliance aboard the International Space Station.
It’s a technical marvel and, with a price tag of (US)$19 million, it should be operating flawlessly. And it would be, if the crew would use it.
It’s a classic case of high-tech aspirations falling prey to low-tech situations: People insist on privacy.
The problem? The folding-curtain door for the “facility” was scheduled to come up to the station on a future supply rocket. And the crew has decided that, until there’s no blush, there’ll be no flush.
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced it will move up the curtain’s priority on the Space Station shipping manifest.
The Russian-made space toilet was delivered and installed last month as part of a major remodel and expansion of the Space Station in preparation for the planned doubling of it’s crew complement this coming year.