Has anyone ever seen the video of the 'space eel'? It was recorded by a NASA astronaut on a mission. The camera is pointing back at earth and you can see some weird eel type thing wiggling about in space! Im not sure of the astronaut's name, but I think it may have been Story Musgrave. Does someone know of a site where I can view the video, or even some pictures, coz I only saw it on TV?

Interesting, an 'eel' in space... when did you see this on T.V? and what channel exactly? because some channels throw in jokes that are intended to be taken literally

yea.... sounds interesting though...

anyone?

a eel... in space...? wierd

'space animal'??!!??

Well the astronaut called it that, a space eel. I think it was the Discovery Science channel, in a program called Riddles Of The Sky. I have seen it before on a seperate program. It must be out there somewhere on the net.
Ive seen the video and its real. A NASA astronaut wouldnt make it up as a joke!

I've never heard of such a thing, maybe somebody can dig up a video and post it here.

OMNI: What inexplicable things have you seen out there?

Musgrave: You see satellites. I've seen Mir go by within 28 miles; other satellites and you don't know what they are, but maybe just space debris. All kinds of debris come off space ships, especially at the back end after the main engines shut down and you open the doors: ice chips, oxygen or hydrogen, stuff dumped from the engines. On two flights I've seen and photographed what I call "the snake," like a seven-foot eel swimming out there. It may be an uncritical rubber seal from the main engines. In zero g it's totally free to maneuver, and it has its own internal waves like it's swimming. All this debris is white, reflecting sunlight, or you don't see it. Cruising along with you at your velocity, it's still got its own rotation. At zero g, things have an incredible freedom. It's an extraordinary ballet.

Space Eel

It's not an eel in this he says it could be a bit of rubber.

Hi, new here, first post and all that - blah blah

I remember seeing Musgrave's 'eel' or 'worm' or whatever he called it. I got the impression that it was some flexible tubing. It's surprising how much junk is floating out there in orbit. It could have come from a shuttle or Russian module. Don't know what would make it twist and squirm the way it did, though.

what makes the space waste/piece of rubber movie in that motion then? if it were some piece of waste or rubber then it would just float ?

It all depends under what circumstances it was lost from the parent craft. If it was something that an astronaut or cosmonaut was doing and they were flopping it about when it broke free and got lost, then it would still be flopping about for ages after because there's no resistance up there to stop it.

It's a weird bit of footage, though, I admit that.

well it could have spun of like that when it fell off whatever it fell off, and as there is no friction in space then it wouldn't have stopped.

And also, it was transparent. You could see its inside. It definitely had some internal workings, even Musgrave said it. And of course it was wiggling about like a creature (such as an eel or snake). ....... I highly doubt it was just a piece of tubing!

I have seen it too, on Discovery Channel I think, it doesnt look like anything "alive" it looks like a piece of tubing spinning as it floats by. Quite similar to the "Fire Flies" seen by John Glenn on his first mission, later identified as iceparticles.