About the Author

Richard Cochrane is trained in chemistry and metallurgy but is far more interested and practiced as a political and fund raising consultant, writer and amateur historian. He grew up in a Navy family and with his two younger brothers carried on its 500+ year tradition of naval service to Great Britain and the USA then enjoyed a career with one of the largest advertising and public relations agencies working with numerous Fortune 500 companies and many of America's premier educational institutions. He maintains friendships and acquaintanceships around the world. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

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"Oh, great!" There Goes a $100,000 Tool Bag

November 20th, 2008 • Richard Cochrane
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Earth to NASA - how about a cost inventory of a $100,000 tool bag?

Does NASA get it's tool bags from GUCCI?'Oh, great!" Astronaut Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper exclaimed watching helplessly as a $100,000 tool bag floated off into the void of space while she was working on the International Sp[ace State (ISS).

Piper forgot to tie it down and the world's most expensive tool bag is now part of the floating junk orbiting the Earth.

Stefanyshyn-Piper borrowed tools from her companion space walker Steve Bowen, who carried the same contents in his bag.

NASA tracks objects lost close to the International Space Station and the space shuttle because they can be harmful if they later collide.

There is so much space debris in low orbits around the Earth, we wish Chicken Little were right about the sky falling-at least when it comes to debris that is cluttering up our space environment and starting to truly interfere with use of space.

Man-made debris is clogging up active satellite traffic lanes and the situation is getting worse. As we approach space gridlock, space will eventually become inaccessible to all nations for all applications. There will eventually be no more GPS navigation, no more weather data beamed from space and no more satellite television, etc. — and, unfortunately, no one is doing anything about cleaning up space!

There are good things from Tuesday "whoops" renewed discussions about cleaning up space, and requiring "deorbiting" mechanisms that would ensure stuff leaves orbit and burns up and doesn't just float around for decades and even centuries.

A request has been sent to NASA to explain what could cost $100,000 in a tool bag and if it answers we will let you know.


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