Bureaucratic rules regarding who can use what equipment aboard the International Space Station are causing some hard feelings among the crew members, according to Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who gave an interview to Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper before he blasted off towards the space station on Thursday. Padalka complained that regulations will prevent him from using his American colleagues' exercise bike to stay fit in space.
Worse than that, [officials] also ruled that American and Russian crew members should use their own "national toilets", with Russian crew banned from using the luxurious American astro-loo [The Guardian].
Padalka said strict regulations that prevent the sharing of everything from food to toilets hurts the crew's morale and makes working in space still more complicated. But he added that the crew will rise above the pettiness.
"Cosmonauts are above the ongoing squabble, no matter what officials decide," said Padalka, a veteran of two ...