Photo: NASA
A Florida family has filed a lawsuit against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration after a piece of space debris crashed through their home.
Alejandro Otero said that his son was at their home in Naples on March 8 when a two-pound piece of metal crashed through the roof, leaving a sizable hole all the way to the sub-flooring.
Luckily, nobody was injured by the falling debris.
NASA confirmed that the debris came from a 5,800-pound cargo pallet containing aging nickel hydride batteries that was jettisoned from the International Space Station in 2021. The pallet was expected to completely burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. However, a metal stanchion survived reentry and crashed into Otero's home.
"Based on the examination, the agency determined the debris to be a stanchion from the NASA flight support equipment used to mount the batteries on the cargo pallet. The object is made of the metal alloy Inconel, weighs 1.6 pounds, is 4 inches in height and 1.6 inches in diameter," NASA said.
Now, Otero is seeking damages from NASA to repair the damage to his house.
"My clients are seeking adequate compensation to account for the stress and impact that this event had on their lives. They are grateful that no one sustained physical injuries from this incident, but a 'near miss' situation such as this could have been catastrophic. If the debris had hit a few feet in another direction, there could have been serious injury or a fatality," attorney Mica Nguyen Worthy said.