No shi-, errr, I mean "no kidding". NASA installs a toilet worth $19,000,000 but they won't let the [span style="text-decoration: line-through;"]commies[/span] Russians use it.
[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"]Tension is bound to flare over the
$19 million toilet NASA purchased from Russian aerospace firm RCS Energia, as only half of the International Space Station will enjoy the upgrade—the American side. The toilet justifies its steep price by being able to recycle urine as drinkable water, Waterworld-style.
The Russian half of the station is stuck with the old latrine. They'll have to continue to load up one of their unmanned cargo vessels with boxes of their leftovers and send it to burn up in the atmosphere, which is pretty much the equivalent of flushing right now in space.
[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"]In case you're wondering, here's what $19 million dollars worth of toilet looks like:
