In a rare occurrence, a bag of tools was lost by astronauts during a maintenance spacewalk outside the International Space Station on November 1. The bag has now become an additional artificial object that stargazers can spot in the night sky as it orbits the Earth at a slowing pace.
During the six-hour-and-42-minute spacewalk, NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara replaced a trundle bearing assembly that assists the port solar alpha array in tracking the Sun to generate electricity for the station.
As the astronauts worked, the tool bag, referred to by NASA as a crew lock bag, was visible in images of the spacewalk.
While attempting to stow a communications box, the astronauts discovered they didn’t have enough time to complete the task. In the process of assessing the situation, the tool bag drifted away and could not be retrieved. Fortunately, the tools were not required for additional work during that spacewalk.
On the same day, Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa captured a photo of the drifting bag while conducting “unrelated Earth observation activities.”
What is in the space tool bag?
According to NASA, the crew lock bag contained tethers, hardware handling aids, and a ratchet wrench with a socket. A NASA representative estimated the value of the bag and contents at “around $100,000” if it were to be purchased today.
In total, the bag and tools weighed 42.9 pounds.
The crew on the space station did not have to do without the tools for too long. A replacement bag was delivered to the space station on November 11 during NASA’s SpaceX 29th commercial resupply mission, and NASA stated that the impact on station operations was minimal.
Where is the crew lock bag now?
After analyzing the bag’s trajectory, Mission Control confirmed that it is gradually deorbiting and does not pose a risk to the space station or the crew onboard on its present path. It is projected to remain in orbit until spring to midsummer 2024 and will disintegrate when it reaches 70 miles above the Earth’s surface.
There have already been reports of the crew lock bag sightings. Astronomy news site EarthSky reports the bag has a visual magnitude of +6, making it just too dark to see with the naked eye but visible with binoculars if you know where to look. The bag shares an orbit with the space station and is traveling several minutes ahead, though the time gap is increasing as the bag gradually loses orbit.
To find out when the space station is passing through your area, you can use NASA’s Spot The Station tool to determine the station’s orbit and location in the sky.
SOURCES NASA; EarthSky
