{"id":44717,"date":"2024-04-17T20:54:31","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T12:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/a-chunk-of-metal-that-tore-through-a-florida-home-definitely-came-from-the-iss\/"},"modified":"2024-04-17T20:54:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T12:54:31","slug":"a-chunk-of-metal-that-tore-through-a-florida-home-definitely-came-from-the-iss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/a-chunk-of-metal-that-tore-through-a-florida-home-definitely-came-from-the-iss\/","title":{"rendered":"A chunk of metal that tore through a Florida home definitely came from the ISS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NASA has confirmed that the object that fell into a Florida home last month was part of a battery pack released from the International Space Station.<\/p>\n<p style=\"\">This extraordinary incident opens a new frontier in space law. NASA, the homeowner, and attorneys are navigating little-used legal codes and intergovernmental agreements to determine who should pay for the damages.<\/p>\n<p>Alejandro Otero, owner of the Naples, Florida, home struck by the debris, told Ars he is fairly certain the object came from the space station, even before NASA\u2019s confirmation. The circumstances strongly suggested that was the case. The cylindrical piece of metal tore through his roof on March 8, a few minutes after the time US Space Command reported the reentry of a space station cargo pallet and nine decommissioned batteries over the Gulf of Mexico on a trajectory heading forward the coast of southwest Florida.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, NASA confirmed the object\u2019s origin after retrieving it from Otero. The agency said in a statement that the object is made of the metal alloy Inconel, weighs 1.6 pounds, and is 4 inches in height and 1.6 inches in diameter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs part of the analysis, NASA completed an assessment of the object\u2019s dimensions and features compared to the released hardware and performed a materials analysis,\u201d the agency said. \u201cBased 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A jolt from the sky<\/h2>\n<p>Otero was out of the country when his house came under the crosshairs, but his 19-year-old son was home. The impact sounded like fireworks going off, Otero said in an interview Tuesday. A recording from Otero\u2019s Nest camera captured the noise.<\/p>\n<p>The son \u201cwas sitting in front of his computer doing homework with his earphones listening to music, and he was jolted out of his chair with a very loud sound,\u201d Otero said.<\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<p>After surveying the damage when he got home, Otero filed a police report, and first responders helped pull the object out of the subfloor between the first and second stories of his house. It penetrated the roof and ceiling of an unoccupied second-floor bedroom, then hit the floor between the bed and a bathroom and struck a piece of air conditioning ductwork. It hit so hard that it created a bump on the ceiling of the first floor but didn\u2019t penetrate it, according to Otero.<\/p>\n<p>Something the size and mass of this battery support stanchion would have probably struck the house with a terminal velocity of more than 200 mph (320 km per hour). At that speed, the results could have been deadly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLuckily, nobody got hurt,\u201d Otero said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1768729031493427225&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Farstechnica.com%2Fspace%2F2024%2F04%2Fflorida-man-tells-ars-about-his-encounter-with-something-that-fell-from-space%2F&amp;partner=tfwp&amp;sessionId=1c9d3c867e8ab7020d7ec9dfaa636a00ec8b6026&amp;siteScreenName=arstechnica&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1768729031493427225\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i178486401220090807=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Hello. Looks like one of those pieces missed Ft Myers and landed in my house in Naples.<br \/>\nTore through the roof and went thru 2 floors. Almost his my son.<br \/>\nCan you please assist with getting NASA to connect with me? I\u2019ve left messages and emails without a response. pic.twitter.com\/Yi29f3EwyV<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alejandro Otero (@Alejandro0tero) March 15, 2024<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A quick glance at the object indicated to Otero that it probably came from space.&nbsp;\u201cIt\u2019s super dense, a very strong alloy, a very interesting metal,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I saw that it was half-charred and that it had a cylindrical shape that had taken a concave shape from traveling through the atmosphere, I knew it had to be coming from outer space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew it was manmade,\u201d Otero continued. \u201cI just didn\u2019t know where it was from until I started googling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Otero said he found Ars\u2019 original article on the reentry on March 8, along with posts about the event on X. That\u2019s when he contacted a local news outlet. WINK News,&nbsp;the CBS affiliate for southwest Florida, was first to report on the damage to Otero\u2019s home. After Otero tried several times to contact NASA officials, an attorney from Kennedy Space Center called him to hear his story. NASA then dispatched someone to pick up the object from Naples.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is very unique,\u201d Otero said. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve seen or heard, after my own research, any of these events occurring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<h2>Setting precedent<\/h2>\n<p>By all accounts, this is the first time a piece of space junk has fallen out of orbit and damaged someone\u2019s home, at least in the United States. This means Otero and his attorney, Mica Nguyen Worthy, are entering uncharted legal waters as they prepare to file a claim with NASA for damages.<\/p>\n<p>Otero\u2019s insurance covered damages to his home, but the provider will make a subjugated claim to seek reimbursement, Worthy said. Otero will also file a claim for unspecified non-insured damages, she said.<\/p>\n<p>Michelle Hanlon, executive director of the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi, said the Federal Tort Claims Act outlines the government\u2019s liability for damages in instances like this one. But Worthy said the laws in this area \u201cmay be inadequate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis may be a situation where we have to make the claim and make the law\u2026 and we\u2019ll see how NASA responds,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a good rapport with the (NASA) general counsel. Our goal is to make Alejandro whole, but in addition to that, we\u2019re trying to engage in a conversation about what do responsible space operations look like in the international picture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An intergovernmental agreement outlines the apportionment of liability among the partner nations on the International Space Station. While the metal fragment that struck Otero\u2019s home was apparently an item from NASA, it was mounted aboard a cargo pallet launched by Japan.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ars-img-shortcode id-2009015 align-center\">\n<p>                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/51049786767_d54c2616ef_k.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/51049786767_d54c2616ef_k.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/51049786767_d54c2616ef_k-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/51049786767_d54c2616ef_k-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/51049786767_d54c2616ef_k-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/51049786767_d54c2616ef_k-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/51049786767_d54c2616ef_k-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/51049786767_d54c2616ef_k-1440x960.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/p>\n<p>                In March 2021, the International Space Station\u2019s robotic arm released a cargo pallet with nine expended batteries.<\/p>\n<p>                    Credit:<br \/>\n                                          NASA<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>NASA completed a multi-year upgrade of the space station\u2019s power system in 2020 by installing a final set of new lithium-ion batteries to replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries that were reaching end-of-life. Officials originally planned to place pallets of the old batteries inside a series of Japanese supply freighters for controlled destructive reentries over the ocean.<\/p>\n<p>But a series of delays meant the final cargo pallet of old batteries missed its ride back to Earth, so NASA jettisoned the batteries from the space station in 2021 to head for an unguided reentry. Ars published details of the circumstances that led to this&nbsp;in a previous story.<\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t the way NASA prefers to get rid of space debris, but managers decided they couldn\u2019t keep the pallet at the space station, where it took up a storage location needed for other purposes. NASA expected the roughly 5,800 (2.6-metric ton) battery pallet to fully burn up during reentry.<\/p>\n<p>But Otero\u2019s experience shows that was not the case, and it\u2019s possible other fragments may have fallen in the Gulf of Mexico or in unpopulated areas of southwest Florida. NASA said it will \u201cperform a detailed investigation of the jettison and reentry analysis to determine the cause of the debris survival and to update modeling and analysis, as needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The European Space Agency (ESA) also monitored the trajectory of the battery pallet last month. At the time, ESA concluded that \u201csome parts may reach the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNASA specialists use engineering models to estimate how objects heat up and break apart during atmospheric reentry,\u201d the agency said in a statement Monday. \u201cThese models require detailed input parameters and are regularly updated when debris is found to have survived atmospheric reentry to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The agency said it remains committed to \u201cmitigating as much risk as possible to protect people on Earth when space hardware must be released.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A low but non-zero risk<\/h2>\n<p>Predicting where and when something will reenter the atmosphere is also full of uncertainty. Fluctuations in the density of the upper atmosphere continually increase or decrease the amount of aerodynamic drag affecting an object in low orbit. Space Command, which tracks roughly 50,000 objects in orbit, narrowed its reentry prediction for the battery pallet from six hours to four hours shortly before it actually fell out of orbit.<\/p>\n<p>The battery pallet\u2019s track was well-established, so officials knew the exact parts of the planet it would fly over during the reentry window. But in six hours, the object would complete four orbits of Earth. The pallet\u2019s track in the six-hour window Space Command released early on the day of reentry took it over all six populated continents.<\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<p>Otero told Ars he hopes the incident fosters an \u201cintelligent\u201d conversation about the risk of falling space debris without sensationalizing it. According to ESA, the risk of a person getting hit by a piece of space junk is about 65,000 times lower than the risk of being struck by lightning. The series of events that led to a chunk of metal falling from space through Otero\u2019s roof was a \u201cperfect storm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause of this incident, it\u2019s really raised the awareness that it\u2019s not theoretical that these objects can make it to the ground \u2026 and potentially cause damage,\u201d Worthy said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think we are entering a period where we need to start worrying about space junk hitting us every time we go outside, but we should definitely get used to these stories,\u201d Hanlon told Ars in an email.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most well-known reentry debris incidents occurred in 2003 when a piece of the doomed space shuttle&nbsp;<em>Columbia&nbsp;<\/em>smashed through the roof of a dentist\u2019s office in Texas. Fortunately for those who worked there, the&nbsp;<em>Columbia&nbsp;<\/em>accident happened on a Saturday when the office was closed. The&nbsp;<em>Columbia&nbsp;<\/em>accident differs from Otero\u2019s experience because the shuttle was flying back to Earth for a controlled reentry.<\/p>\n<p>A person in Oklahoma was hit&nbsp;by a lightweight piece of material in 1997 that experts linked to the reentry of the upper stage from a Delta II rocket. It was a glancing blow, and the air helped slow down the piece of debris, so she escaped injury. There was also an incident in 1969 when a fragment from a Soviet spacecraft reportedly hit a small Japanese ship near the coast of Siberia, injuring five people.<\/p>\n<p>When a large Chinese Long March 5B rocket fell out of orbit in 2020, wreckage damaged a village in the Republic of C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire. The Long March 5B is a frequent offender of debris because its massive core stage makes it all the way into orbit, an unusual design feature for a rocket. This booster then comes back into the atmosphere unguided.&nbsp;Four Long March 5Bs have been launched to date, with more flights planned in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know that NASA does modeling on their orbital debris reentry, but we don\u2019t know what other countries are doing,\u201d Worthy said. \u201cWe\u2019re in this new renaissance of space operations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShould there be some kind of alert system for the general public?\u201d Worthy said. \u201cThose are the kinds of questions Alejandro and I have been asking ourselves and talking to NASA about.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA has confirmed that the object that fell into a Florida home last month was part of a battery pack released from the International Space Station. This extraordinary incident opens a new frontier in space law. NASA, the homeowner, and attorneys are navigating little-used legal codes and intergovernmental agreements to determine who should pay for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2361,190,79,4180],"class_list":["post-44717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-florida","tag-nasa","tag-space-debris","tag-space-junk"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44717"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}