In a startling incident, a man in Florida was left astonished after a piece of space debris from NASA's International Space Station (ISS) crashed through his roof, narrowly avoiding a potentially tragic outcome.
The incident has raised concerns about the risks posed by space debris and the need for better monitoring and management by NASA.
Space debris from NASA's ISS crashed into a Florida man's house
The incident occurred in Naples, Florida, where Alejandro Otero's home was struck by a two-pound object that penetrated two floors of the property.
Thankfully, no one was injured during the ordeal, but Alejandro is desperate for answers regarding the nature of the object and who should be held responsible for this accident.
Alejandro, who was not at home at the time of the incident, learned about it through a home security camera that captured the moment the object pierced through the roof.
He described the sound as tremendous and mentioned that it came dangerously close to hitting his son, who was in a nearby room.
He exclaimed that an object tore through the house, creating a large hole in both the floor and the ceiling.
After hearing the noise, Alejandro initially thought it might have been a meteorite, but it is now believed that the object was an EP-9 equipment pallet.
The US Space Command recorded the reentry of a piece of space debris from the International Space Station around the same time Alejandro reported the incident.
It is suspected that the object in question was a battery from the ISS.
According to a report from Ars Technica on March 9, approximately three tons of debris from the space station descended to Earth without guidance.
While it was believed that most of the objects burned up during reentry, it appears that some of them remained intact and reached the Earth's surface, including Alejandro's home.
Alejandro sought Jonathan McDowell's assistance, who relayed the information to the Aerospace Corporation.
Alejandro reached out to astronomer Jonathan McDowell for assistance in getting NASA to respond to the incident.
Jonathan confirmed that he had passed on the information to the Aerospace Corporation, and based on the photos and timeline provided, he agreed that there was a strong possibility that the object originated from the International Space Station.
If it is determined that the object is indeed from a foreign country and not of US origin, Alejandro's insurance could potentially file a claim against the responsible government under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
NASA has since confirmed that the object has been retrieved from Alejandro's home for further analysis.
