An object from space recently made an unexpected impact on a home in Naples, Florida, catching both the homeowner and NASA by surprise. The US space agency confirmed that the object was a piece of its flight support equipment, specifically a component part of the power upgrades of the International Space Station (ISS).
The piece, made of highly resistant Inconel material, weighed approximately 0.73 kilograms and measured 10 centimeters high by 4 centimeters in diameter. Despite NASA’s expectations that all the hardware released during the re-entry process in March 2021 would burn up upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, this specific piece managed to survive and end up crashing through the roof of Alejandro Otero’s residence.
Luckily, Otero and his family were on vacation at the time, so no one was injured in the incident. Otero was shocked by the unlikely event, stating to WINK, “I was shaking. I could not believe it. What are the chances of something falling on my house with enough force to cause that much damage? I’m super grateful that no one got hurt.”
NASA has announced that they will conduct a detailed investigation into the debris survival and update their models and analyses as needed to prevent such incidents in the future. While rare, the agency emphasizes the importance of operating responsibly in low Earth orbit to ensure the safety of people on Earth.