# Astronauts fix the International Space Station using a toothbrush



## entropy13 (Sep 6, 2012)

A $100 billion space station saved by a simple $3 toothbrush? It was the brainstorm of astronauts Sunita Williams and Akihido Hoshide and NASA engineers on the ground: a tool to clean a bolt that gave them so much trouble during a marathon 8-hour spacewalk last week.

They were trying to replace an electrical switching unit, but on Thursday they couldn't bolt it to the outside of the station.

What to do if there is no hardware store in the neighborhood and the next supply ship is months away? Build it yourself -- so they attached a simple toothbrush to a metal pole and voila! They were able to clean out the bolt's socket today and finish the job. Shades of Apollo 13 -- when engineers threw parts on a table and brainstormed a solution, which saved the crew. 



Full article here.


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## D007 (Sep 6, 2012)

lol toothbrushing a hole vs making an air filter from duct tape and all the other crazy stuff the apollo guys did? Not even comparable.. but way to think on your feet peoples.


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## Solaris17 (Sep 6, 2012)

D007 said:


> lol toothbrushing a hole vs making an air filter from duct tape and all the other crazy stuff the apollo guys did? Not even comparable.. but way to think on your feet peoples.



Ya not comparible but GJ on the tooth brush.


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## Drone (Sep 6, 2012)

I wonder what do they smoke in space?


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## Solaris17 (Sep 8, 2012)

comet dust shit man do you live under a rock?


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## INSTG8R (Sep 8, 2012)

Solaris17 said:


> comet dust shit man do you live under a rock?



Shhh man don't tell everyone. They'll cut off my supply


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## scaminatrix (Sep 8, 2012)

They still got nothing on SuperMechanics  These guys will fix a car with rocks and string!


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## de.das.dude (Sep 8, 2012)

it would be shameful if they werent the ones thinking of something like this. they are astronauts after all, not some dimwit who barely passed school


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## GLD (Sep 8, 2012)

Another example of fleecing of America. That toothbrush should not have cost $3.


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## RejZoR (Sep 9, 2012)

I often fabricate items to perform some task. Either for car, computer or other items.


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## ShiBDiB (Sep 9, 2012)

scaminatrix said:


> They still got nothing on SuperMechanics  These guys will fix a car with rocks and string!



Except these guys are floating in space where these ingenious fixes could be life or death events....Besides that sure I agree with whoever the hell ur talking about


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## scaminatrix (Sep 9, 2012)

ShiBDiB said:


> Except these guys are floating in space where these ingenious fixes could be life or death events....Besides that sure I agree with whoever the hell ur talking about



And if a SuperMechanic can't fix his car he's stuck in the desert in the middle of nowhere with no way to contact anyone.

Doesn't sound so different from astronauts really.

I'm not going to bother explaining what a SuperMechanic is, I can see you're not even vaguely interested in learning anything


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## Solaris17 (Sep 9, 2012)

scaminatrix said:


> And if a SuperMechanic can't fix his car he's stuck in the desert in the middle of nowhere with no way to contact anyone.
> 
> Doesn't sound so different from astronauts really.
> 
> I'm not going to bother explaining what a SuperMechanic is, I can see you're not even vaguely interested in learning anything



actually that was flight of the phoenix not a super machanic. and it was the 1965 version I didnt see that other crap.


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## WhiteLotus (Sep 9, 2012)

Drone said:


> I wonder what do they smoke in space?



Astro turf


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## scaminatrix (Sep 9, 2012)

Solaris17 said:


> actually that was flight of the phoenix not a super machanic. and it was the 1965 version I didnt see that other crap.



Flight of the Phoenix is a film (never watched it myself), I'm talking about a documentary I watched on people in the middle east and their skills in fixing cars with random stuff you find in a desert.


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