Posted on 11/13/2023 9:01:46 AM PST by Red Badger
An astronaut tool bag dropped during a spacewalk can be seen orbiting Earth on Nov. 2, 2023. (Image credit: NASA/JSC) Some astronomy targets are less celestial in nature than others.
Joining stars, planets, nebulas, and galaxies as a target for skywatchers is now a surprisingly bright tool bag floating through the space around Earth. The bag of tools gave NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara the slip on Nov. 2, 2023, as they were conducting a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station (ISS).
The tool bag is now orbiting our planet just ahead of the ISS with a visual magnitude of around 6, according to EarthSky. That means it is slightly less bright than the ice giant Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun. As a result, the bag — officially known as a crew lock bag — is slightly too dim to be visible to the unaided eye, but skywatchers should be able to pick it up with binoculars.
To see it for yourself, first find out when you can find spot the space station over the next few months (NASA even has a new app to help you). The bag should be floating two to four minutes ahead of the station. As it descends rapidly, the bag is likely to disintegrate when it reaches an altitude of around 70 miles (113 kilometers) over Earth.
European Space Agency (ESA) reserve astronaut Meganne Christian shared footage of the moment the tool bag escaped the grasp of Moghbeli on her X account. She added that the bag had last been sighted at that time by Crew-7 astronaut Satoshi Furukawa as it floated high above Mount Fuji.
Also on X, Harvard Center for Astrophysics (CfA) astronomer Jonathan McDowell revealed that the bag is circling Earth in a roughly 258 by 258 mile (415 by 416 kilometer) orbit. McDowell also explained that the bag has also been given its own categorization in the U.S. space force cataloging system for artificial objects in orbit officially designated 58229 / 1998–067WC.
The tool bag joins a vast array of artificial space junk in orbit around Earth, ranging from pieces of shuttles and smashed-up satellites to tools used by astronauts. This isn't even the first tool bag to reach orbit. In 2008, as NASA astronaut Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper attempted to repair a jammed gear on an ISS solar panel, she lost her grip on another tool bag with then circled our planet.
And these definitely aren't the weirdest objects to find their way to orbiting Earth. That honor goes to a humble spatula. Late NASA astronaut Piers Sellers lost his grip on the kitchen implement as he was using it to spread heat-shield repair slime during the space shuttle Discovery's flight STS-121 in 2006. "That was my favorite spatch. Don't tell the other spatulas," Sellers reportedly said about the loss.
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I have found two other stories of dropped tool bags and tools and they were all women. Just observing.....
Jasmin looks kinda trannyish
Craftsman brand is owned by Stanley Black & Decker now..................
>> What are their pronouns?
“butterfingers” / “spaz”
Sorry for your loss. There’s actually not that much friction between my wife and me regarding tools. She has her own set of tools for making things out of pallet wood, though she doesn’t like to run the table saw, so I do that. If she uses any of my tools, I just make sure I get them back later.
Oh good grief. Have men EVER had tools go lost?
Come on, man.
Well, you make a good point. My wife’s name is Natalie. She’s my love of 42 years and counting. I had no problem with her using my tools, but Estwing hand tools are highly regarded, very high quality, expensive, internationally recognized, and their only plant is where we live. So I was a little upset that she treated it so carelessly.
Was it the 10mm? Please tell me it was not.
It’s always the 10mm.
It always is....................🤦♂️🤦♀️
Will be interesting to see how much their pay is docked...
“CRAFTSMAN tools are backed by some of the strongest warranties in the market today. If you have a product that requires repair or replacement under warranty, simply return the product to the original place of purchase for repair or replacement, depending on the warranty coverage outlined below. Or create an account to register your product and view its warranty coverage.”
Well many people can’t return them to their original place of purchase as they no longer exist. the question of if someplace like Lowes will honor a warranty on those tools not purchased from them seems to be ambiguous at best. Maybe yes and maybe no.
Just a hunch but if the bag had been a little more stylish, perhaps with a monogram, it might not have “slipped.”
“Moral of the story - women are better at carrying purses than toolbags. 😊 (Covering for incoming)”
Ricky : LUCY .. . WHAT did you do with my toolbag??! Did YOU leave my toolbag outside AGAIN??!
Lucy : Now, Ricky .. . DON’T be mad! .. . Waaaaaaaaaaaaahh!
Even better: Have Louis Vuitton manufacture the bag.
Lol
Women...tools...
Just sayin’.
That is a funny story!
Fortunately, my husband is handy with tools, he’s just not organized so he misplaces them often.
I solved my dilemma by making my own tool area, with my own set of tools (including power tools and batteries). I wrote “Mom” on all my tools so that way I know where my tools are and who is using them 😂.
It sounds like overkill, but I use tools everyday on the farm and it really helps to be able find a tool and use it right away!
PS, before making my own tool space, I tried helping my husband keep track by setting up a nice pegboard with all the tools and bins organized and labeled. It lasted about a month 😂😂😂
I don’t let my wife anywhere near my tools. They are all in it’s place so that I can find what I need when I need it.
Other side of the coin: She won’t allow me anywhere near the laundry room.
Not a bad trade.
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