Two astronauts on the ISS a few days ago got a little extra excitement when they accidentally dropped a tool kit! The object considered safe for the space station is now in orbit around Earth and its trajectory can even be followed from the ground!
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Oops! This is what two astronauts, Jasmine Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, must have thought during their extravehicular exit on 1.Is november. While he was repairing a solar panel on the ISS, a kit containing equipment needed for the mission accidentally slipped out of his hands.
It was certainly with a touch of anguish that they must have watched him go into space. Because the object that had been so useful until then suddenly turned into a projectile representing a potential threat to the International Space Station. However, some trajectory calculations made it possible to immediately rule out any risk of collision with the tool kit, which, upon passing, was listed as a new artificial object in orbit and with the number 58229/1998-067WC. Referred. Therefore both the astronauts were able to sleep peacefully.
A new object in orbit visible from Earth!
This is not the first time, and certainly not the last time, that instruments have been lost in space during a spacewalk. Fortunately, this type of incident has not caused any damage or threatened the lives of astronauts so far.
A tool kit lost by NASA astronauts during a recent spacewalk is now in Earth orbit. © K, YouTube
The tool kit now travels alone and is visible even from the ground, provided you have a small telescope or good binoculars. It follows the same path, at approximately the same speed, as the ISS, but as a smaller bright dot a minute ahead of the station (GlowGlow Of magnitudemagnitude 6). It should remain visible for a few months before you finish your courseAtmosphereAtmosphere And disintegrate.