Spacewalk Problem: Grease Spill, Lost Bag

Endeavour's lead spacewalker has run into difficulty before she could begin to work on a damaged International Space Station joint.

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper first reported one of her grease guns had exploded in her bag of equipment, spreading the dark, dry grease over her camera and gloves.

Then, she lost a bag holding tools, which floated toward the rear of the station (shown above).

"Oh, great," she said.

Mission controllers said they were assessing whether the accidents would stall the spacewalk, which had been running ahead of schedule. The astronauts are assessing what gear was lost in the bag, and what they still have.

They recommended Stefanyhsyn-Piper use dry terrycloth wipes to clean the grease from her camera and gloves, which she did.

"There was one grease gun in the bag that didn't have a cover on it, and I think that's probably where the grease came from," she said. "It was in the crew lock bag that"s lost."

So far, Stefanyhsyn-Piper has continued her work on the joint that rotates the station's starboard solar wings.