Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper--GUILTY

Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper

Just a few problems this year for shuttle astronauts and ISS citizens: First the toilet broke, then just this week the urine conversion apparatus failed, and now fumble fingers Stefanyshyn-Piper and the slippery tool bag. Next...the thawing device for the frozen Thanksgiving meals malfunctions and yields burnt offerings? I think Heidemarie should pay for the tools.

A backpack-sized tool bag inadvertently dropped from the International Space Station last week is orbiting Earth and has been sighted from the ground. The tool bag is surprisingly bright, about 6th or 7th magnitude, which makes it an easy target for binoculars or a small telescope.--SpaceWeather.com.

In this image from NASA TV, a tool kit bag, center, as seen through the helmet camera of astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, floats away from the International Space Station after she lost hold of it during a procedure during a 6 1/2-hour scheduled space walk outside the space station, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008.

In this image from NASA TV, the hand of astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper is seen at left, through her helmet camera, reaching for a tool kit bag that was lost from her grasp during a procedure during a space walk outside the International Space Station, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008.

Urine conversion?:

Jay Leno, November 17th, NBC:

NASA now says their $154 million machine that converts urine into drinking water is not working properly. How would you like to be the astronaut that found that out?

David Letterman, November 17th, 2008, CBS:

NASA has developed a urine machine that will convert urine into water. Well, guess what? It’s on the blink. And you thought the coffee was bad where you work.

Conan O'Brien, November 17th, 2008, NBC:

Astronauts on board the International Space Station are trying to fix the machine that turns urine into drinking water. Well, actually, the urine converter was fixed days ago, but the astronauts keep saying, "You try it. No, you try it."


ISS has a serious problem--a broken toilet

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