A spacewalking astronaut has lost her toolbag, one of the largest ever objects lost by a spacewalker.

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper was leading a space walk to lubricate a sticky joint on a solar panel when the accident happened.

NASA’s mission log notes:

About halfway into the spacewalk, one of the grease guns that Piper was preparing to use on the SARJ [Solar Alpha Rotary Joints] released some Braycote grease into her crew lock bag, which is the tool bag the spacewalkers use during their activities. As she was cleaning the inside of the bag, it drifted away from her and toward the aft and starboard portion of the International Space Station. Inside the bag were two grease guns, scrapers, several wipes and tethers and some tool caddies.

According to AP the grease gun “exploded” covering her helmet camera and gloves. It was as Stefanyshyn-Piper was wiping her gloves that the bag drifted away (see Space.com for pictures).

In a follow up story, AP notes that the lost tool kit may mean future spacewalks have to be re-planned to reflect the reduced number of tools available. “What it boils down to is all it takes is one small mistake for a tether not to be hooked up quite correctly or to slip off, and that’s what happened here,” says spacewalk officer John Ray.

To her credit, Stefanyshyn-Piper’s response to losing the bag was “Oh, great.” Which is rather less expletive-ridden than mine would have been.

Headline watch

Where did I put my tools? OOPS! – Detroit Free Press

Image: Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper, mission specialist / NASA