NASA haults space launch due to Hurricane Ian – Pictured: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by: Allard One
NASA is looking into claims made by a southern Florida man that his home was severely damaged by an object that fell from space.
On March 8, in the afternoon, Alejandro Otero was away on vacation when his son called to report that something had broken into the Naples home.
According to Otero, the item “ripped through the house and then made a big hole on the floor and on the ceiling,” as reported by WINK News. “Immediately I thought a meteorite.”
“It almost hit my son,” he continued.
When Otero got home, he discovered a cylindrical object that was around two pounds in weight and a few inches long.
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, stated on X that a “equipment pallet” from space had reentered Earth’s atmosphere over the Gulf of Mexico, about five minutes before the house was damaged.
He was monitoring the three tons of space debris that the International Space Station (ISS) was supposed to discard after it made an erroneous reentry on March 8.
According to McDowell on X, the pallet was a “little to the northeast” of its intended route and, had it reentered the atmosphere a few minutes later, would have reached Fort Myers, which is around an hour’s drive from Naples.
Depending on its size and composition, space debris can reach temperatures of up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit before vaporizing as it falls into the atmosphere.
Regarding whether the space trash will burn up in response to a query on X, McDowell stated, “Partly, but some bits of battery casing will survive.”
“While some parts may reach the ground, the casualty risk — the likelihood of a person being hit — is very low,” the European Space Agency stated.
Otero claimed to have informed NASA about the damage at the time of the occurrence, but he had not heard back. Then the agency got in touch with him.
“NASA collected an item in cooperation with the homeowner, and NASA will analyze the object at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as soon as possible to determine its origin,” a NASA spokesman told Business Insider. Following the completion of the analysis, more details will be accessible.”
Otero might be entitled to reimbursement if it originates from the space station. His claim, however, might be more difficult to prove if the item is manufactured abroad, Michelle Hanlon, the executive director of the University of Mississippi’s Center for Air and Space Law, told Ars Technica.
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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
