Space Shuttle to Deliver Science Lab, Plumbing Supplies

If the shuttle Discovery blasts off as planned this Saturday, it will deliver a $1 billion science lab to the International Space Station, where astronauts will be able to use furnaces to grow crystals and bio-chambers to grow cells. But the space lab isn't the shuttle's only precious cargo. It will also carry spare parts to allow astronauts to fix their malfunctioning space toilet. News of the broken space toilet has captivated the earth-bound masses, as people imagine, with horror, being confronted with a balky toilet in a zero gravity environment. NASA has admitted that the toilet broke last Wednesday, when the fan-and-vacuum system that sucks away liquid waste stopped working. The repair has become a high priority for this week's shuttle flight.