2023-11-17 11:18:25
The two astronauts out on the ISS got a little extra adrenaline rush a few days ago, when they accidentally dropped a tool kit! Deemed safe for the Space Station, the object is now in orbit around the Earth and its trajectory can even be followed from the ground!
This will also interest you
[EN VIDÉO] ISS: the lights of the Earth seen from the Space Station Filmed from the International Space Station (ISS), the night sky appears illuminated by our lighting….
Oops ! This is what the two astronauts, Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, must have thought during their extravehicular exit on November 1st. While they are in the process to repair a solar panel on the ISSthe kit which contains the tools necessary for the mission accidentally escapes from their hands.
It was certainly with a touch of anguish that they must have watched her move away into space. Because the object that had been so useful until then suddenly transformed into a projectile representing a potential threat to the International Space Station. A few trajectory calculations, however, made it possible to quickly rule out any risk of collision with the tool kit, which, in passing, was cataloged as a new artificial object in orbit and referenced with the number 58229/1998-067WC. The two astronauts were therefore able to sleep peacefully.
A new object in orbit visible from the ground!
This is not the first time, and certainly not the last, that tools have been lost in space during a spacewalk. Fortunately, this type of incident has so far not caused any damage or endangered the lives of the astronauts.
A tool kit recently lost by NASA astronauts during a spacewalk is now in orbit around Earth. © K, YouTube
The tool kit now travels alone and is also visible from the ground, provided you have a small telescope or good binoculars. It moves almost at the same speed as the ISS, on the same route, but is ahead of the station by a minute in the form of a tiny bright point (luminosityluminosity of magnitudemagnitude 6). It should remain visible for a few months before ending its course in the atmosphereatmosphere and disintegrating.
1700223930
#tool #kit #lost #astronauts #visible #Earth #binoculars
