astronaut loses $100,000 tool bag during spacewalk

[black echo]

WHY don't they mandate a Dummy Cord?

[Jon]

An astronaut dropped another tool bag last week, during a spacewalk in which NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara were attempting to repair a malfunctioning trundle bearing assembly.



Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...g_fullsize.jpg

[hemmjo]

$4.49 piece of paracord could have kept that bag within reach. That is what I use when I need several tools up on a ladder.

[Ralphxyz]

How does a bag drop in zero gravity?

[mklotz]

How does a bag drop in zero gravity?

The short answer is: It isn't in zero gravity. Mathematically, the distortion of space-time we call gravity extends from the parent mass all the way out to infinity decreasing as the inverse square as one moves away from the mass.

The rotational motion of the satellite exactly balances the force of gravity at the satellite's height. If the speed of the bag exactly matches that of the ISS, it will orbit along with it. Change the speed of the bag slightly (e.g., as by losing grip while moving it) and it will want to move to a new orbit consistent with its new velocity. Once it reaches that new orbit height it will remain there in orbit.

[Toolmaker51]

How does a bag drop in zero gravity?

It indeed drops.
The difficulty, predicting which direction that will be...........

[hemmjo]

Well, the is gravity there. Gravity is every where. They are in a situation where many forces involved. The Earth, Sun , Moon, etc, all have gravity. Those forces, along with speed relative to all of those forces are balanced. Any movement that caused the bag to change speed disrupted that delicate balance. They could not chase after it or risk floating away themselves.

Dropped is not the best word to describe what happened. But then people who write news people are not the best writers. Most of us, myself included, often use words incorrectly.

[CharlesWaugh]

The big problem is that now there's but one MORE piece of space-junk to keep an eye on so it doesn't obliterate some satellite or spacecraft. Stuff in orbit travels gazillions of miles per second (gazillion is my own Official Unit of speed that is f - a - s - t - !)

Here's an article about a paint fleck impact on a window os a spacecraft.
https://www.popsci.com/paint-chip-li...e%20of%20metal.

[mklotz]

The big problem is that now there's but one MORE piece of space-junk to keep an eye on so it doesn't obliterate some satellite or spacecraft. Stuff in orbit travels gazillions of miles per second (gazillion is my own Official Unit of speed that is f - a - s - t - !)

Here's an article about a paint fleck impact on a window os a spacecraft.
https://www.popsci.com/paint-chip-li...e%20of%20metal.

The bag doesn't have an orbit maintenance engine or computer to control it. Its orbit will eventually decay until it burns up in the atmosphere. Until then, NASA will track it and hopefully avoid collisions.

For the ISS ninety minute orbit your gazillion translates to about 17,650 mph.

[Elizabeth Greene]

Its orbit will eventually decay until it burns up in the atmosphere.

Assuming 15 kilos of mass and a drag cross section of 0.5 square meters it should re-enter the atmosphere in 317 days. That's a size estimate based on my tool bag here. If it's larger than that, say a full square meter, that number cuts in half.

They have another reboost scheduled between now and the end of the month that should put it safely below the station's orbit.