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A12 science
Saturday 3 OctOber 2020
Potty training: NASA tests new $23M titanium space toilet

By MARCIA DUNN SpaceX crew.
AP Aerospace Writer "Trust me, I've got going
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) to the bathroom in space
— NASA's first new space down, because that is a vi-
potty in decades — a $23 tal, vital thing to know how
million titanium toilet better to do," she told The Associ-
suited for women — is get- ated Press earlier this week.
ting a not-so-dry run at the The typical space station
International Space Station population will go from
before eventually flying to six to seven with the next
the moon. SpaceX flight, and even
It's packed inside a cargo more when non-profession-
ship that should have blast- als like tourists start showing
ed off late Thursday from up as early as next year.
Wallops Island, Virginia. But Astronauts normally stay six
the launch was aborted months.
with just two minutes re- The last time NASA ordered
maining in the countdown. up a new toilet was in the
Northrop Grumman said it early 1990s to accom-
would try again Friday night modate two-week space
if engineers can figure out shuttle missions. The agen-
what went wrong. cy contracted with Collins
Barely 100 pounds (45 kilo- Aerospace to provide the
grams) and just 28 inches In this June 18, 2020 photo provided by NASA, astronaut Kate Rubins, center, and support personnel latest model; the company
(71 centimeters) tall, the review the Universal Waste Management System, a low-gravity space toilet, in Houston. also worked on the shuttle
Associated Press
new toilet is roughly half as potties.
big as the two Russian-built side of the outpost. Women can use the elon- toilet to withstand all the Also in the 8,000-pound
ones at the space station. The old toilets cater more gated and scooped-out acid in the urine pretreat- (3,600-kilogram) shipment
It's more camper-size to fit toward men. To better funnels to urinate while sit- ment. Going to the bath- aboard Northrop Grum-
into the NASA Orion cap- accommodate women, ting on the commode to room in space may sound man's Cygnus capsule: air
sules that will carry astro- NASA tilted the seat on the poop at the same time, simple, but "sometimes the tanks to make up for a slight
nauts to the moon in a few new toilet and made it tall- McKinley said. Until now, simple things become very space station leak, rad-
years. er. The new shape should it's been one or the other difficult" without gravity, ish seeds for greenhouse
Station residents will test it help astronauts position for female astronauts, she said NASA astronaut Mike growing and a cinematic
out for a few months. If the themselves better for No. 2, noted. Hopkins, commander of 360-degree VR camera for
shakedown goes well, the said Johnson Space Cen- Like earlier space com- the second SpaceX crew, you-are-there-spacewalk
toilet will be open for regu- ter's Melissa McKinley, the modes, air suction, rather due to launch Oct. 31 from shots.
lar business. project manager. than water and gravity, re- Kennedy Space Center. Perhaps the most unique
With SpaceX now launch- "Cleaning up a mess is a moves the waste. Urine col- While the old design isn't payload: Estee Lauder's
ing astronauts to the space big deal. We don't want lected by the new toilet will that hard to use, subtle de- newest wrinkle serum. The
station and Boeing less any misses or escapes," she be routed into NASA's long- sign changes can make all cosmetics company is pay-
than a year from sending said. standing recycling system the difference for women, ing $128,000 for an out-of-
up its first crew, more toilets Let's just say everything to produce water for drink- noted NASA astronaut this-world photo shoot, part
are needed. The new one floats in weightlessness. ing and cooking. Titanium Shannon Walker, a for- of NASA's push to open the
will be in its own stall along- As for No. 1, the funnels also and other tough alloys mer space station resident final frontier to marketing,
side the old one on the U.S. have been redesigned. were chosen for the new who's also on the next industry and tourism.q

Anthem to pay nearly $40M settlement over 2015 cyberattack

over a cyberattack on its ple in several states, includ- to probe deeply into the
technology that exposed ing key markets like Califor- insurer's systems.
the personal information of nia and New York. The attack exposed in-
nearly 79 million people. The company discovered formation that included
The Blue Cross-Blue Shield the data breach in early names, birthdates, So-
insurer said Wednesday 2015 after hackers had cial Security numbers and
that it will pay $39.5 million been burrowing into its sys- medical IDs. Last year, a
to settle an investigation by tems for weeks. Security ex- federal grand jury indicted
a group of state attorneys perts said at the time that two members of a hack-
general. Anthem said it was the size and scope of the ing group operating from
the last open investigation attack indicated potential China in the attack.
into the attack. involvement by a foreign Anthem said Wednes-
The company also agreed government. Hackers used day that it was the victim
nearly two years ago with a common email tech- of a "sophisticated state
the U.S. Department of nique called spear-phish- sponsored criminal attack
In this May 14, 2019, file photo signage on the outside of the Health and Human Services ing in which unwitting com- group" in the attack. The in-
corporate headquarters building of health insurance company to pay $16 million to settle pany insiders are tricked surer said it did not believe
Anthem is shown in Indianapolis. possible privacy violations. into revealing usernames it violated the law in con-
Associated Press Indianapolis-based An- and passwords. The An- nection with its data securi-
By TOM MURPHY Health insurer Anthem has them Inc. provides health them attackers gained the ty, and it was not admitting
AP Health Writer agreed to another multi- insurance coverage to credentials of system ad- to that with its latest settle-
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — million-dollar settlement more than 42 million peo- ministrators, allowing them ment. q