NASA: Home in Florida Hit by Space Debris from ISS Battery Fragments

NASA confirmed that space debris that fell on a Florida home in March was fragments of a discarded ISS battery pallet.

The pallet was thrown away from the International Space Station/ISS (International Space Station) on January 11, 2021.

On March 8, 2024, it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere uncontrollably.

The hope was that most – if not all – of the debris would burn up upon re-entry, although at the time Astronomer Jonathan McDowell noted that about half a ton of fragments would likely reach the Earth’s surface.

McDowell is right. Fragments managed to surface, and – even worse – one piece, weighing 1.6 pounds (736 grams), fell onto Alejandro Otero’s home in Naples, Florida.

According to Otero, the fragments “went through the roof and penetrated 2 floors.”

NASA representatives visited Otero’s home and collected the fragments for analysis.

The US space agency has now confirmed that the fragments are indeed part of a cargo pallet – in this case, the support beams used to mount the batteries.

The item is made from nickel-chromium-based Inconel superalloy, which is renowned for being resistant to extreme temperatures and environments.

It is four inches (10.16 cm) high and 1.6 inches (4 cm) in diameter, or slightly smaller than the small 6.7oz/200 ml soda cans so beloved by airlines.

However, at 1.6 pounds (736 grams), it is much heavier and could easily cause more serious damage than adding unwanted ventilation to an Otero home.

He noted that it almost hit his son as it passed through the house.

NASA said it would update the models used to predict how objects break up during reentry.

The ISS team will investigate the disposal of the cargo pallets to better understand the cause of the debris’ persistence.