17.04.2024
NASA says it determined that an object that crashed through the roof of a Florida home last month was a chunk of space junk from equipment discarded at the International Space Station
NAPLES, Fla. -- NASA confirmed Monday that a mystery object that crashed through the roof of a Florida home last month was a chunk of space junk from equipment discarded at the International Space Station.
The cylindrical object that tore through the home in Naples on March 8 was subsequently taken to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral for analysis.
The space agency said it was a metal support used to mount old batteries on a cargo pallet for disposal. The pallet was jettisoned from the space station in 2021, and the load was expected to eventually fully burn up on entry into Earth’s atmosphere, but one piece survived.
The chunk of metal weighed 1.6 pounds (0.7 kilograms) and was 4 inches (10 centimeters) tall and roughly 1 1/2 inches (4 centimeters) wide.
Homeowner Alejandro Otero told television station WINK at the time that he was on vacation when his son told him what had happened. Otero came home early to check on the house, finding the object had ripped through his ceiling and torn up the flooring.
“I was shaking. I was completely in disbelief. What are the chances of something landing on my house with such force to cause so much damage,” Otero said. “I’m super grateful that nobody got hurt.”
Quelle: abcNews
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NASA AGREES ISS DEBRIS HIT HOME IN FLORIDA
NASA confirmed today that a piece of debris from the International Space Station hit a home in Naples, FL last month. The homeowner reported that something hit his house about the time a pallet laden with old batteries was reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. NASA expected it all to disintegrate, but it did not.
The ISS has large batteries on the outside of the space station connected to solar arrays that power the 420 Metric Ton facility.
The ISS has been in orbit for more than two decades and NASA swapped out the original nickel-hydrogen batteries for new lithium-ion batteries over several years in the late 2010s and early 2020s.
In March 2021, NASA released a 5,800 pound pallet carrying old batteries with the expectation it would disintegrate when it eventually reentered. Space objects heat up through friction as they descend into the lower layers of the atmosphere. NASA and its space agency and commercial partners routinely use the fiery heat of reentry to destroy trash.
In this case, however, a piece survived during the reentry three years later on March 8, 2024.
Homeowner Alejandro Otero posted to X that a piece of debris hit his house in Naples, FL, narrowly missing his son.
NASA acknowledged today it was from the ISS. In a blog post, the agency said it is part of a stanchion used to mount the batteries to the pallet and showed a photo of the stanchion (left) and the debris (right, in the purple-gloved hand).
NASA told SpacePolicyOnline.com this evening the homeowner may file a claim through the Federal Tort Claims Act to seek reimbursement for damages that were incurred.