When a woman loses her bag it’s always devastating, yet it rarely makes the headlines. But when that woman is Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, the first female assigned as lead spacewalker on a shuttle flight, it’s a different matter.
Heidemarie was cleaning the solar panel of a space station when a grease gun exploded. As she wiped the messy grease from her camera and gloves, she lost her grip on her backpack-sized bag filled with vital tools. There are no second chances in space, so Heidemarie could only watch helplessly as her precious purse floated away.
It’s a long way back to Earth, so thankfully Heidemarie could share the tools of her fellow space traveler Stephen Bowen to get the job done.
Heidemarie’s bag is one of the largest objects ever to be lost by a spacewalker. The incident was the only blemish on a near-flawless mission by Endeavour and its crew.
[Image Source: Michael Lorenzo/Stock.xchng]
