A spacewalking astronaut accidentally let go of a tool bag after a grease gun inside it exploded, and helplessly watched as the tote and everything inside floated away.
It was one of the largest items ever to be lost by a spacewalker, and occurred during an unprecedented attempt on Tuesday to clean and lube a gummed-up joint at the International Space Station.
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper was just starting to work on the joint when the mishap occurred.
She said the grease gun exploded, getting the dark gray stuff all over a camera and her gloves. While wiping everything off, the white, backpack-size bag slipped and all the tools floated away.
“Oh, great,” she mumbled.
Fellow spacewalker, Stephen Bowen, and Stefanyshyn-Piper then finished their tasks in almost seven hours by sharing tools. Bowen had another tool bag with another set of grease guns, putty knives and terry cloth mitts to wipe away metal grit from the joint.
“Despite my little hiccup, or major hiccup, I think we did a good job out there,” Stefanyshyn-Piper said after returning to the space station.
Flight controllers were assessing the impact the lost bag would have on the next three planned spacewalks. The astronauts may be asked to keep sharing tools or use caulking-style guns intended for repairs to the shuttle’s thermal shielding.
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.
Flight director Ginger Kerrick said neither the bag nor the screw posed hazards to the spacecraft. By late Tuesday, the bag was already 4km in front of the shuttle-station complex.
“It’s well on its way away from us,” she told reporters.
NASA was not sure how the bag got loose; it should have been tethered to a larger equipment bag. Another unknown: why the grease gun discharged.
“It is a human endeavor. Mistakes can happen. Equipment can fail,” said John Ray, the lead spacewalk officer in Mission Control.
He said that Stefanyshyn-Piper showed “real character and great discipline” by continuing on and doing a fine job for the rest of the spacewalk. She was the first woman to be assigned lead spacewalker for a shuttle flight.
Other items lost in past spacewalks include a foot restraint, bolts and a spatula used during a test to repair the shuttle.
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