Wherever humans go, they generate trash. On the International Space Station there’s no garbage truck swinging by once a week to clear out the junk. Over the weekend, NASA and space company Nanoracks demonstrated a new way to deal with ISS waste. The test involved Nanoracks’ Bishop Airlock. The air lock is a commercial addition to the ISS that’s designed to deploy small satellites, act as a movable toolbox for spacewalks, and hold experiments. Now, for the first time, it’s been used to eject garbage. In a statement this week, Nanoracks called it “more efficient and sustainable model for eliminating waste aboard the ISS.”
… The crew stuffed 172 pounds of dirty clothing, foam, packing materials, spent office supplies and hygiene products into a baglike waste container inside the air lock. They then sealed up the container and used a robotic arm to move Bishop into a position where it could release the junk. A video was released. … The trash bag will eventually burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.