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Dropped Shuttle Toolbag Filmed From Earth

Posted by timothy on from the that's-insane dept.

cathector writes "An article at spaceweather.com reports that the toolbag dropped during Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper's spacewalk has been recorded on film from earth: 'When Endeavour astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper dropped her toolbag during a spacewalk on Nov. 18th and it floated away, mission controllers probably figured they'd seen the last of it. Think again. Last night, Nov. 22nd, veteran satellite observer Kevin Fetter video-recorded the backpack-sized bag gliding over his backyard observatory in Brockville, Ontario. "It was easily 8th magnitude or brighter as it passed by the 4th magnitude star eta Pisces," he says. Spaceweather's satellite tracker is monitoring the toolbag.'" The actual loss of the bag was filmed, too; reader Kagura links in a comment on the original story to this YouTube clip of the bag's escape.

4 of 389 comments (clear)

  1. Floating corpses by hansamurai · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So does that mean if an astronaut got disconnected and floated off, we'd be able to see them orbiting or flying off too? Kind of morbid.

    --
    Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
  2. Re:That's no moon! by nmb3000 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That's a tool bag!

    Sigh...

    There go another set of $10,000 government hammers -- not to mention the $24,000 socket set :(

    (Ha. As an aside, I wonder how much that tool bag really cost when you factor in its mass during launch.)

    --
    "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
    /)
  3. Dark Star by owlnation · · Score: 4, Interesting

    On top of the toolbag as it glides, sits Doolittle the Spider.

  4. Re:That's no moon! by LoRdTAW · · Score: 4, Interesting

    LOL Oh if I only had mod points.

    A Snap-on 22 piece ratchet kit is over 500 bucks. Hell a tool box from them is over $300!