Astronaut outside space station loses tool bag
November 18th, 2008 By MARCIA DUNN , AP Aerospace Writer
In this image from NASA TV, a tool kit bag, center, as seen through the helmet camera of astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, floats away from the International Space Station after she lost hold of it during a procedure during a 6 1/2-hour scheduled space walk outside the space station, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
(AP) -- A spacewalking astronaut whose grease gun erupted in a backpack-sized tool bag accidentally let go of the tote outside the international space station Tuesday, and it floated off along with everything in it.
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SFC
"buy them books, send them to school and all they want to do is...............the teacher."
but yeah, really suprising bag wasnt tethered. bet it will be next time. "honey I lost your tools but I have a really good excuse...well, I know where they are but you'll never get them back" I wonder how many years that bag will be in orbit.
What was the cost of the bag and its contents(please include "shipping" costs)?
And, what is the cost of a tether?
And I can't help but ask this third question:
How exactly were they planning on working AND hanging on to the toolkit WITHOUT a tether?
:/
Do they imagine that you can let go of something valuable in space and actually have some hope of retrieving it?
Wouldn't there be a closely monitored check-list for the entire space walk?
So... Doesn't this mean that none of the tools in the toolkit were tethered either?
If the toolkit was open(it looks like it was), won't all the tools drift out? Isn't that sorta dangerous?
If the grease-gun "exploded," shouldn't that have been a sign to abort the spacewalk, go back inside and develop a new procedure or work-around? Wouldn't one automatically assume that the second grease-gun might be prone to similar catastrophic failure? Aren't exploding tools a NASA no-no near pressurized space suits?
Just askin'.
Is it in a stable orbit or decaying one? If the latter it's not a problem at all. If the former they're going to have to track it's orbit as they would a regular satellite and cross their fingers it doesn't intersect with another one at the wrong place/time.
Jack ass.
I just say let the toolbox go. Any rescue of it would take too much time. I mean, it's probably just going to return with the space shuttle anyway. Especially if the gun malfunctioned.
The issue of losing the toolbox and the expensive tools is really a side issue. The possible future collision with a toolbag at orbital velocities is the big issue at hand and the real cost of the lost tools.
To Heidemarie I truely do feel sorry for you knowing there will be ceaseless jokes from the sexist female mechanic jokes to the sure to last Butterfingers moniker to which you have earned a perminent place as the foremost example until someone manages to do something better.