Space Tools Return Ablaze

In outer space, no one can hear you scream a blue streak when you drop that bag of tools that — face it — just is not coming back.

You may recall hearing about the incident late last year involving a spacewalk aboard the International Space Station when a crew member lost hold of a satchel of tools. Tariq Malik writing at Space.com now reports that the tool bag did actually return, in a manner of speaking, and presumably in a brief, white-hot blaze as it entered the atmosphere early this week.

Professional and amateur astronomers alike have closely monitored the backpack sized tool kit valued at $100,000 since it slipped away in November, 2008.

The event has served to raise broader awareness of the existence of space debris, and of the challenges and hazards posed by increasing amounts of space clutter. A network of observers actively tracks just shy of 20,000 unique bits of space junk in an effort to prevent damage to satellites and spacecraft.

Fortunately, with this week's confirmed tool kit re-entry and presumed incineration, the collective to-do list just got incrementally lighter by one task.

Photo courtesy of NASA, via Wikimedia Commons.