17-4-2024 (FLORIDA) In a bizarre incident that underscores the growing concerns surrounding space debris, a piece of metal believed to be from the International Space Station (ISS) tore through a Florida home last month, narrowly missing a resident. NASA confirmed on Monday that the 1.6-pound object was debris from a cargo pallet intentionally released from the space station three years ago.
The pallet, packed with aging batteries, was supposed to burn up harmlessly in Earth’s atmosphere upon its release in 2021. However, a small piece survived the fiery descent, smashing through the roof and two floors of a Naples, Florida, home on March 8th.
Alejandro Otero, the homeowner, was not present at the time of the incident, but his son narrowly escaped potential harm, as the metal object nearly struck him while he was in a nearby room. The impact left a gaping hole in the roof and floors, serving as a startling reminder of the potential risks posed by space debris.
Hello. Looks like one of those pieces missed Ft Myers and landed in my house in Naples.
Tore through the roof and went thru 2 floors. Almost his my son.
Can you please assist with getting NASA to connect with me? I’ve left messages and emails without a response. pic.twitter.com/Yi29f3EwyV— Alejandro Otero (@Alejandro0tero) March 15, 2024
WINK News, a CBS News affiliate in southwestern Florida, was the first to report on the bizarre incident. Otero recounted the harrowing ordeal to the outlet, describing how the object crashed through his home, narrowly missing his son.
In a detailed blog post, NASA acknowledged the incident and revealed that the agency had analyzed the object at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After studying its features and metal composition, NASA confirmed that the debris was part of the equipment used to mount the batteries on the cargo pallet released from the ISS in 2021.
The piece of space junk, roughly cylindrical in shape and measuring approximately 4 inches tall and 1.6 inches wide, was part of the hardware used to secure the old nickel hydrogen batteries that were being replaced by new lithium-ion batteries at the space station.
The 5,800-pound cargo pallet containing the spent batteries was intentionally jettisoned from the ISS over the Pacific Ocean, as the outpost orbited 260 miles above the Earth’s surface. This method of disposal is a common practice among space agencies and commercial space companies, as it avoids contributing to the already significant problem of space junk orbiting the planet.
While most objects that enter the atmosphere burn up completely during their fiery descent, occasionally, some pieces survive the extreme conditions and make their way to the Earth’s surface, as evidenced by this incident in Naples.
