Brits to see tool bag dropped by ISS astronauts as it flies over UK on Tuesday

A tool bag dropped by astronauts will be visible tomorrow night (November 21) as it flies over Britain.

Skygazers will be able to see the kit using binoculars or a telescope at about 8pm.

The bright bag was lost by Nasa astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara earlier this month as they fixed a solar panel on the International Space Station, 250 miles above Earth. The tools have been spotted orbiting the Earth about five minutes ahead of the ISS by astronauts on board the hub.

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Astronomers on the ground have spotted the bag and said it shines like a slow moving star.

Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project which first spotted the object from the ground, said: “The object looks like a sharp dot of light in the centre, as the telescope tracked it.”

The gaffe was photographed by astronaut Satoshi Furukawa as he was taking pictures of Mount Fuji as he passed over Japan.

Nasa joked they should have fitted the bag with a tracking device so the crew could find the lost kit the next time they complete an orbit.

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The astronauts on the ISS space walk had planned to remove and stow a communications electronics box but ran out of time.

The blunder is believed to have happened when the duo lifted some insulation to get a better view of the job.

Nasa spokesman Mark Garcia said: “During the activity, one tool bag was inadvertently lost. Flight controllers spotted the tool bag using external station cameras.

“The tools were not needed for the remainder of the spacewalk. Mission Control analysed the bag’s trajectory and determined that the risk of recontacting the station is low and that the onboard crew and space station are safe with no action required.”

The website N2Y0.com is tracking the tool bag.

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