It’s amazing to watch rockets launch into space, but most rarely think of the objects they discard in high altitudes.
The Earth is massive, so space junk usually drops into the ocean. However, there have been moments when space debris crashed into a populated area.
READ: Space is full of junk, and nobody would clean it
The one that collided with a Florida man’s home is one of the most recent examples. NASA confirmed it was from the International Space Station (ISS).
More details on the NASA space junk
On April 2, 2024, Ars Technica reported on the rare occurrence. A few weeks ago, something from the clouds crashed through Alejandro Otero’s roof.
The space object weighed 1.6 pounds (0.7 kg), 4 inches (10 cm) tall, and 1.5 inches (4 cm) wide.
He wasn’t at home, but his son was. Their Nest home security camera captured the sound of the crash at 2:34 PM local time (19:34 UTC) on March 8, 2024.
Coincidentally, Ars Technica reported US Space Command recorded the reentry of a piece of space junk from the ISS at 2:29 PM EST (19:29 UTC) on the same day.
Later, NASA recovered the debris from the homeowner. NASA Kennedy Space Center engineers said they will analyze the object “as soon as possible to determine its origin.”
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Otero posted a message on X a day after the crash, saying he is waiting for correspondence from “the responsible agencies” to resolve the cost of damages to his house.
Michelle Hanlon, executive director of the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi, explained to Ars Technica how the insurance claim could work.
She said Otero or his insurance company could file a claim against the Federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
“It gets more interesting if this material is discovered to be not originally from the United States,” she added.
“If it is a human-made space object, which was launched into space by another country, which caused damage on Earth, that country would be absolutely liable to the homeowner for the damage caused.”
Yahoo Finance reported that NASA confirmed that the mystery object that crashed into the Florida home was from the International Space Station.
The space agency said it was metal support that mounts old batteries on a cargo pallet for disposal.