One month after an object crashed into the roof and two stories of a house in Naples, Florida, NASA published results in what the object actually was – and why it suddenly fell from the sky.
The object. Credit: Alejandro Otero
NASA declared the object to be space debris, a 1.6-pound piece of a larger 5,800-pound pallet containing old batteries that the agency launched from the International Space Station three years ago. The palette was supposed to burn up when it entered Earth's atmosphere in March, but a small part survived and hit home in Florida.
The homeowner, Alejandro Otero, allowed NASA to collect and analyze the sample after trying to contact the agency through a post on X, formerly Twitter, last month.
Greetings. Looks like one of those parts missed Ft Myers and landed at my house in Naples.
He tore off the roof and went through 2 floors. Almost my son.
Can you please help NASA contact me? I left unanswered messages and emails. pic.twitter.com/Yi29f3EwyV— Alejandro Otero (@Alejandro0tero) March 15, 2024
Otero posted filming the sounds of the crash as captured by his home security camera.
yes
Friday, March 8, 2024 at 2:34 p.m
Here is a clip of the crash noise on my roof with a time stamp https://t.co/liP0cPQsTt— Alejandro Otero (@Alejandro0tero) March 16, 2024
NASA discovered that the debris was made of Inconel, a metal known for its ability to withstand high temperatures.
The International Space Station will investigate why the debris isn't burning properly and update its engineering models based on what it finds, NASA said.
The agency confirmed its commitment to “operate responsibly” and reduce the risk to people on Earth when it has to launch objects from space.
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Space junkor man-made debris in orbit around Earth, is a problem—not only can debris travel 10 times faster than a bulletbut there are also a lot of it. About 44 tons of space debris hit Earth's atmosphere every day, and while 95% of it burns up, NASA DOCUMENTS that over the past 50 years, an average of one piece of debris fell back to Earth per day.
Aerospace Corporation RATINGS that the risk of injury from falling space debris is less than one in a trillion, but warns that the potential impact of a small piece of debris can be significant. For example, a piece of debris the size of a cranberry can cause a similar impact to a falling anvil.
Florida isn't the only state to have seen the recent presence of space debris — residents in Southern California have noticed a fiery streak of light in the sky Earlier this month the US Space Command confirmed that debris was falling from a spacecraft.
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