News Service from House Harris

US: Astronaut loses tool bag outside space station

When a woman drops her handbag it's usually no big deal .. unless she happens to be an astronaut working on the international space station .. and is left watching all her tools floating off into space.

HEIDEMARIE STEFANYSHYN-PIPER .. the the first woman to be assigned as lead spacewalker for a shuttle flight .. dropped her kit after a grease gun inside it exploded as she was giving a gummed-up joint on a solar panel a cleanand lube.

Flight controllers are tracking the tool bag in orbit .. it's the size of aback-pack and while it's one of the largest items ever lost by a spacewalker .. they can't say yet how dangerous it might be.

AAP RTV afbart=0A