Astronaut Loses Tool Bag On Spacewalk

But Effort To Clean Gummed-Up Solar Panel Joint Continues

(CBS/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.

It was one of the largest items ever to be lost by a spacewalker, and occurred during an unprecedented attempt to clean and lubricate a gummed-up joint on a solar panel.

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper was just starting to work on the joint when the mishap occurred.

She said her grease gun exploded, getting the dark gray stuff all over her helmet camera and gloves. In the process of wiping off her gloves, the bag slipped out of her grip, and she lost all her other tools.

"Oh, great," she mumbled.

CBS News correspondent Peter King reports the astronauts' main job Tuesday was to start work on the motor that aims the station's solar power wings toward the sun -- it has big gears -- and has been pretty much stalled for more than a year.

The joint is located near the extreme reaches of the 220-mile-high outpost. The spacewalkers had 85-foot safety tethers to keep them connected to the mother ship at all times.

Stefanyshyn-Piper was carrying out the spacewalk with Stephen Bowen. He had his own tool bag with another grease gun, putty knife and oven-like terry cloth mitts to wipe away metal grit from a clogged joint at the space station.

Mission Control agreed the spacewalk would continue as planned, and that the two astronauts would share tools. Flight controllers were assessing the impact the lost bag would have on the next three planned spacewalks.

It was the first of four spacewalks planned for space shuttle Endeavour's two-week visit to the space station; the astronauts also are making home improvements.

Earlier, the spacewalkers spotted a screw floating by, but were too far away to catch it. "I have no idea where it came from," Stefanyshyn-Piper told Mission Control.

Mission Control said the screw was not considered a serious hazard, but did not immediately elaborate on the missing tool bag. Flight controllers were tracking its location in orbit.

The lost bag marred what had been a near-flawless mission by Endeavour and its seven-member crew.

Putting her disappointment aside, Stefanyshyn-Piper - the first woman to be assigned as lead spacewalker for a shuttle flight - carried out her work on the joint with Bowen.

For more than a year, the jammed joint has been unable to automatically point the right-side solar wings toward the sun for maximum energy production. The repair work - expected from the outset to be greasy and hand-intensive - is supposed to take up much of all four spacewalks.

NASA suspects a lack of lubrication caused the massive joint to break down; grinding parts left metal shavings everywhere and prompted flight controllers to use the joint sparingly. Besides scraping and wiping away the grit and applying grease, the spacewalkers will replace the bearings.

As a precaution, extra grease will be applied on a later spacewalk to the joint on the opposite side of the space station that has allowed those solar wings to produce ample electricity.

Before tackling the joint repairs, Stefanyshyn-Piper and Bowen had to get some relatively mundane work out of the way. First on their to-do list: collecting an empty nitrogen gas tank outside the space station and hauling it back to the docked shuttle for return to Earth. Then they had to move an ammonia hose coupler from the shuttle over to the station, storing it on a giant toolbox holding other spare parts.

As the action unfolded outside, the astronauts inside the shuttle-station complex started unloading the gear inside a huge trunk that was brought up by Endeavour.

The big-ticket item - and one of the first things to be hooked up - is a recycling system that will convert astronauts' urine and sweat into drinking water. It is essential if NASA is to double the size of the space station crew to six next June.

Endeavour also delivered an extra bathroom, kitchenette, two bedrooms, an exercise machine and refrigerator that will allow space station residents to enjoy cold drinks for the first time.

The additions - coming exactly 10 years after the first space station piece was launched - will transform the place into a two-bath, two-kitchen, five-bedroom home.

Endeavour arrived at the space station Sunday. The shuttle will remain docked through until at least Thanksgiving. The next spacewalk is set for Thursday.

[hawksprings]

Why isn''t something like that on a tether?

[boston1954]

How far is it to the hardware store?

[swingset4u]

LMAO!! Butter Fingers!

[swingset4u]

a recycling system that will convert astronauts'' urine and sweat into drinking water.

Now I want to know is the recycled Urine and sweat Astronaut specific and does the donor of the sweat and urine have exclusive right to each his /her own???

[blackbug99]

I can see a Home Depot/UPS commercial in here.

[rushlimpdrug]

Many companies will fire an employee for
"losing" a tool.

On a lighter side, if she can prove the
grease gun was defective, walmart will return
the money back to NASA (provided they kept the
receipt).

[Michael Arnold]

Send a woman to do a mans job and what happens!? Geeze girlies, you''re gonna have to do better than this!

[pcreversed]

Oops, can someone call AAA?

[truthislife1]

It''s all fun and games until someone looses an intestine.

[cutetinia]

Finders Keepers.

[incog-nito]

I found a tool bag in my yard this afternoon. Any idea where it came from?

[nothappyatall]

Amazing all the JUNK and garbage orbiting this planet now as a result of all this- it''s insane. I also dont trust the REAL purpose of this station being king BUSH was so heavy on pushig for it''s completion as fast as possible, that fact alone tells me there''s something a lot more SINISTER connected to tis thing than we are led to believe- the BILLIONS squandered on this thing should be another clue it''s real purpose is MILITARY.

[len134]

WOW! Two whole pages of posts and only one conspiracy nut. That must be a record.

[stevex47]

"It''''s all fun and games until someone looses an intestine."

Ha. Classic.

[caco58]

The billions spent on the ISS and they didn''t use greaseless bearings? Hats off to the designer. Doh!!

[rushlimpdrug]

1. Was she topless when this happened?

2. I also lost a toolbag in space, someone suggested
I look in uranus, somehow lots of tools end up there.

[briannorwood]

If you ever saw the video of the very first American spacewalk (I think is was Alan White back in Gemini), you get an idea of how hard that is. He was so exhausted after just 20 minutes or so, that he almost couldn''t get back in the craft. Apparently, it was a near disaster.

So, I wouldn''t be too hard on her for losing some tools.

[legacyabq]

Stefanyshyn-Piper - the first woman to be assigned as lead spacewalker for a shuttle flight ----------

It was one of the largest items ever to be lost by a spacewalker--------------

the spacewalkers spotted a screw floating by, but were too far away to catch it. "I have menno idea where it came from," Stefanyshyn-Piper told Mission Control. --------------

Ah, women

[legacyabq]

Hehehehehehehehe

just kidding sweetie

[swingset4u]

Time out, time out, I got something in my eye.... uhhh, I said TIME OUT! Man! No fair.

[wtcmedic911]

1. walmart-cloths line rope maybe 2 bucks. grease gun and tools a few thousand miles in space-priceless
2. woman mechanics?? really a great idea. "oh i have a smudge"- oops there goes all my FRIGGIN tools. at least she will go down in history.... wonder if she''d drown if someone glued a mirror to the bottom of a swimming pool?

[wtcmedic911]

autumn987- When your smoking your pipe please stay away from the computer. on so many articles you go on and on and say nothing.

[pirmin3]

These guys have obviously never heard of a rope.

[harrydoghiny]

Headline from Fark.com:

"Astronette lubricating joint experiences eruption. Lets go of sack prematurely. Climax of mission so far"

Friggin hilarious!

[twistedsister1959]

This is going to be a gold mine for the late night talk shows. Why, dear Lord, did it have to happen to a woman. Stereotypes aside, I am sure this cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and will be added to the list of things for your grandchildren''s children to pay for in the years to come.

[juwboy]

Why did the tool bag float off?

It was orbiting the Earth just like the space station and the spacewalking astronaut, so it should have stayed next to her.

[earache4]

Well that explains the searing hot wrench that hit me in the head this morning....

[earache4]

Sadly to say....spare us your stupidity!
Posted by gunfighter51 at 06:50 AM

Ouch!

[pirmin3]

Ah, she was greasing up a joint. Lucky guy.

[babooph]

What a tragedy -that may have been the last toolbag the US could afford to buy.

[gop_will_win]

Typical stupid liberal union worker losing his tools so he could have an excuse to go home early and watch the football game.

[ocasanas]

If some extraterrestian life finds the tool, maybe it will mean one less UFO sighting over a Home Depot store.

[barbaraf4]

"It was orbiting the Earth just like the space station and the spacewalking astronaut, so it should have stayed next to her." Posted by juwboy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If your theory were accurate, there would be no need for umbilicals during spacewalks.

So now we have tools orbiting the Earth at 75,000 mph. They join the growing list of space junk in the same orbit. I consider it a miracle that there has not been a serious collision accident up there yet.

[karlo59]

"gop will win" you must be as dumb as you handle. Is that why the repuglican nazis will not bail out the auto makers , but will bail out the BIG CEO''s in the insurance and banking industry, because they are unionized? There are ONLY 2 types on repugs.....the filthy rich and the totally ignorant........I guess we all know which you are, don''t we?

[barbaraf4]

karlo59

There should be no more bailouts until Paulson can give us (we the taxpayers) an accounting of how he spent the first $300 billion (I imagine he got his Christmas shopping completed early).

As for bailing out the big 3, we have paid for over-priced, unsafe cars for years in order to support the over-paid, under-educated auto workers. If they are in trouble, my vote is to let the unions bail them out. They are the ones holding the money.

[shawnp20]

Isn''t that just typical!!! Leave it to a woman to lose tools from the tool shed!!! LOL That is why men tell their wives and girlfriends EVERY day..."Stay out of the garage... and stay away from my tools!"

[caco58]

Hey NASA engineers, ever hear of greaseless, frictionless bearings?? DOHH!!

[caco58]

Use frictionless, greaseless bearings dummys. Dohhh!!!

[caco58]

Billions of dollars spent and not one designer used them. Job security??

[displeased]

I bet they would make a cool meteor.

[drputt45]

What a tool! Get a grip.

[kkcbs]

Is autumn987 always like that?

[displeased]

Is autumn987 always like that?
Posted by kkcbs

Do you mean psychotic, delusional and always posting its disorganized thinking? Yes, it is always like that.

[inventagod2]

''Mission Control said the screw was not considered a serious hazard, but did not immediately elaborate on the missing tool bag. Flight controllers were tracking its location in orbit.''

We could have used these guys on 9/11...
NORAD couldn''t track three airplanes over America.

[displeased]

Time for NASA to throw another big party!
Posted by kevinkkloste

Dude, you must live in a wild environment. You like people to throw parties for everything.

LOOK!! It''s a bird, no its a plane, no it''s SUPER TOOL

[mystgreen-2009]

OK. She messed up by not having the bag tethered. She should be the first to sample the "new water".

[cdfoxtrot5]

Only a woman would do such a thing.

[barbaraf4]

"Is autumn987 always like that?" Posted by kkcbs
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes

[usclimey]

1) If the grease gun exploded the bag would have been pushed away from her pretty quickly.
2) Orbital speed is 17,500 mph, not 75,000 still, way faster than a speeding bullet.
3) Yes, autumn987 is always like that.