NASA confirmed this week that debris dumped from the International Space Station in 2021 fell to Earth last month, striking a home in a community along Florida’s Gulf Coast and nearly injuring the owner’s son.
According to Space.com, NASA admitted on Monday that its analysis of a 2-pound hunk of metal revealed that it was a piece of a support rod used to mount batteries on a cargo pallet bound for the ISS.
NASA’s plan for the debris to burn up upon re-entry apparently did not pan out.
“NASA remains committed to responsibly operating in low Earth orbit and mitigating as much risk as possible to protect people on Earth when space hardware must be released,” the space agency said in a statement.
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Naples resident Alejandro Otero revealed the incident on X last month.
He reported that on March 8 an unknown metal object “tore through the roof [of his home] and went (through) 2 floors,” almost hitting his son.
Insider Paper noted that the event “occurred at a time and location that closely matched official predictions for the atmospheric burn-up of a cargo pallet fragment carrying old batteries that was jettisoned from the orbital outpost in 2021, making it a likely match.”
“Based on the examination, the agency determined the debris to be a stanchion from the NASA flight support equipment used to mount the batteries on the cargo pallet,” NASA said.
The agency also promised to investigate how the junk metal survived its passage through the atmosphere.
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Citing a report by Ars Technica in March, Insider Paper noted that NASA owned the batteries, but they were attached to the pallet structure launched by Japan’s space agency.
This arrangement potentially complicates any liability claim the homeowner may have, if he chooses legal action.
NASA says that space junk does strike Earth on occasion.
In 2022, part of a SpaceX Dragon capsule landed on an Australian sheep farm, while Skylab, the first U.S. space station, also fell on western Australia.
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