US shuttle plan changed after tools float off

NASA controllers are revamping plans for the remaining spacewalks set to take place during space shuttle Endeavour’s visit to the international space station, after a crucial tool bag floated out to space during a repair trip.

The briefcase-sized tool bag drifted away from astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper yesterday as she cleaned and lubed a gummed-up joint on a wing of solar panels on the space station.

Controllers are considering having the two spacewalkers share astronaut Stephen Bowen’s pair of grease guns for the three remaining spacewalks tomorrow, Saturday and Monday.

Stefanyshyn-Piper said her grease gun exploded, after which the white, backpack-size bag slipped out of her grip, and she lost all her other tools.

“Oh, great,” she mumbled.

She and her fellow spacewalker Bowen then went on to finish their tasks in six hours and 52 minutes by sharing tools.

“Despite my little hiccup, or major hiccup, I think we did a good job out there,” Stefanyshyn-Piper said after returning to the space station.

Earlier, the spacewalkers spotted a screw floating by, but were too far away to catch it. “I have no idea where it came from,” she told Mission Control.

Mission Control said the screw was not considered a serious hazard, but did not immediately elaborate on the missing tool bag. Flight controllers were tracking its location in orbit.