22-6-2024 (WASHINGTON) An American family is pursuing a claim for more than US$108,000 ($$147,445) from NASA after a small piece of space debris fell from the sky and punched a hole through the roof of their Florida home, according to their law firm.
The issue of space junk has become increasingly concerning as space traffic continues to rise, and NASA’s response to this claim could set a precedent for how future cases are handled, stated the law firm Cranfill Sumner in a recent statement.
On March 8, a 700-gram object crashed into the home of Alejandro Otero in Naples, Florida, creating a hole in the roof. NASA later confirmed that the debris was part of a cargo pallet of used batteries released from the International Space Station as waste in 2021.
Instead of fully disintegrating upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, a section of the pallet remained intact and fell to the ground, the US space agency explained.
According to the law firm, Otero’s son was present in the house at the time of the impact. The family has given NASA six months to respond to their claim for damages.
Yes
Friday March 8th, 2024 at 2:34pm
Here’s a clip from the sound of it crashing into my roof with a timestamp https://t.co/liP0cPQsTt— Alejandro Otero (@Alejandro0tero) March 16, 2024
“My clients are seeking adequate compensation to account for the stress and impact that this event had on their lives,” said lawyer Mica Nguyen Worthy. “They are grateful that no one sustained physical injuries from this incident, but a ‘near miss’ situation such as this could have been catastrophic. There could have been serious injury or a fatality.”
