(WKBN) — NASA launched Elon Musk’s Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon capsule Thursday night from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It’s taking supplies to the International Space Station. Maybe there’s a new tool bag going up?
We’ve all done it. Dropped a tool off the roof, or left our coffee on the roof of the car and drove off. Take heart, it happens to the smartest people!
On Nov. 2, two astronauts were on a spacewalk doing routine maintenance. Somehow, one of the tool bags slipped away from Jasmin Moghbeli. Thankfully, she didn’t need the tools to finish the job. Using the onboard cameras, they were able to locate the bag. It’s now a satellite, orbiting the Earth just ahead of the Space Station.
CAN WE SEE THE LOST TOOLBAG FROM EARTH?
Yes! For a tool bag, it’s pretty reflective. You can make it out on a clear night with just a pair of good binoculars.
WILL THIS BAG HIT INTO THE SPACE STATION?
NASA says it shouldn’t pose a risk of colliding with it. The Space Station constantly adjusts to stay in a constant orbit. In the months to come, the tool bag will drift closer to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.
NASA HAS A HISTORY OF BUTTERFINGERS
In 1965, NASA astronaut Ed White infamously lost a spare glove during a spacewalk outside of his Gemini 4 spacecraft. Over the decades, several other astronauts have lost other objects, from spare bolts in 2006 to an entire bag containing a debris shield in 2017.
NASA is well known for its contingency plans for every conceivable problem. We’ll see if they start to tether these tools next time to avoid this problem in the future.
