Taking Out the Trash in Space

July 23, 2007 — -- NASA astronauts at the International Space Station literally took out the trash today when they got rid of two pieces of old equipment by hurling them it into space.

Astronaut Clay Anderson, who took care of the hoisting, told Mission Control, "I will be sending my bill in the mail — space trash disposal." Anderson is on the first spacewalk of his career and he clearly had a blast tossing first an unwanted 212-pound camera mount, then a 1,300-pound ammonia tank.

Perched on the end of the space station's fully extended robot arm, Anderson tossed the unwanted equipment into space as the station orbited 220 miles above the south Atlantic Ocean.

NASA tries to avoid throwing out space junk, but it doesn't have a lot of options — especially with the larger piece.

That item is a coolant storage unit on the outside of the space station -- an EAS, short for early ammonia servicing unit. It's now been replaced by a more powerful system, and the old unit is in the way. It is heavy and big — big enough that no one at NASA takes the decision to toss it overboard lightly.

Kirk Shireman, deputy space station program manager, said there are several questions to ask before deciding to toss something overboard: "Is it safe for the International Space Station? Is it safe for any other orbiting vehicle? Is it safe for people on Earth? Does it make sense from an overall problematic risk standpoint?"

Anderson and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin went outside in their pressure suits, and Anderson held onto the EAS, while his partner undid the bolts that held it in place.