A robotic arm at the International Space Station was seen dropping a pallet full of batteries in 2021. NASA said a metal alloy column from that rover landed on a home in Florida.
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NASA
A Florida family is suing NASA after a piece of the agency’s space metal debris fell to Earth and tore apart their Naples home earlier this year, leaving a hole in the roof.
The March incident was a surprisingly rare case of man-made material from orbit returning intact to our planet’s surface and landing in a populated area, while placing raises the question of who is responsible when space debris causes damage on Earth.
“Space debris is a real and serious problem because of the increase in space traffic in recent years,” said the family’s attorney, Mica Nguyen Worthy. speak in a statement. “My clients are seeking adequate compensation to address the stress and impact this event has had on their lives.”
Worthy noted that homeowner Alejandro Otero’s 19-year-old son was in the house at the time of the incident but was just a few rooms away from the crash and was unharmed. “They are grateful that no one was physically injured from this incident, but a ‘near miss’ situation like this could have been disastrous.”
The lawsuit against NASA, filed last month, seeks damages including loss of uninsured property damage, mental and emotional distress and other damages.
NASA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Organ speak in an April blog post that a “space object” recovered from Oteros’ home was involved in operations in March 2021 on the International Space Station.
At that time, NASA release a 5,800-pound cargo pallet containing an old nickel hydride battery that is expected to orbit Earth for two to four years before burning up in the atmosphere.
But the agency said it believes the material that fell in Florida was a 1.6-pound metal alloy column from “NASA flight support equipment.”
“NASA remains committed to operating responsibly in low Earth orbit and minimizing risks as much as possible to protect people on Earth when space hardware must be released,” the agency said on April.
Worthy said NASA would be responsible for damage caused by its space debris in any other country under an international agreement known as the Space Responsibility Convention.
But space law expert Mark Sundahl told NPR in April that the law is unclear when material belonging to NASA lands on US soil, making it a domestic legal issue.
