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1 year ago
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A tool-kit dropped by NASA astronauts working on the ISS is now orbiting the Earth at 17,000mph and will be visible from the ground as it flies over Britain tomorrow.
The stray bag was accidentally lost by astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara while they were mending a solar panel on the ISS earlier this month.
Astronomers on the ground have now spotted the kit glimmering like a star as it precedes the trajectory of the ISS by several minutes, according to The Telegraph.
The newspaper reported that Britons in the south will have a decent chance of seeing the kit between 6.24pm and 6.34pm on Tuesday evening, providing the weather is good.
The best time to see the bag will be on November 24 between 5.30pm and 5.41pm.
The bag was classified as space junk and given the ID number 58229/ 1998-067WC.
The tool-kit will be visible from the ground as it flies over Britain tomorrow
The stray bag was accidentally lost by astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara while they were mending a solar panel on the ISS earlier this month
Ms Moghbeli told mission control after the bag was spotted: 'In the most improbable of events, Satoshi was actually… taking photos of Mount Fuji and also captured a nice photo of a lost item, the nice crew lock bag from yesterday. It wanted to see Mount Fuji, I guess.'
The astronauts had planned to remove a communications device called the radio frequency group but were running out of time on their six-hour space walk.
They had lifted some insulation to get a better view of the task ahead and it is thought the bag drifted away during that process.
According to astronomy website earthsky.org, it should be possible to spot the toolkit on a clear night 'with a good pair of binoculars'.
The satchel-sized bag was dropped by astronauts as they carried out external maintenance work on the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this month
It floated away before they noticed it and it is now orbiting Earth several minutes ahead of the ISS, at around 17,000mph
It said that as the bag loses height it should appear between two and four minutes ahead of the ISS. Mission controllers joked it should have been fitted with Apple's AirTag tracking device so it can be picked up on the crew's next orbit.
If it is similar to a bag lost in 2008 by astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, the cost of replacing it could top £82,000.
She mislaid hers as she cleaned a leaking grease gun while working on one of space shuttle Endeavour's solar panels. Some amateur astronomers even held 'tool-watching parties' to keep up with the bag as it circled the Earth for months.
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