Florida family sues NASA after piece of space debris crashes into their home: NPR

A robotic arm was seen on the International Space Station launching a pallet full of batteries in 2021. NASA says it was a metal strut of that flight equipment that landed at a home in Florida.

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A Florida family has sued NASA after a piece of the agency’s metallic space debris fell to Earth and tore through their Naples home earlier this year, leaving a hole in the roof.

The March incident was a rare and stunning case of man-made material from orbit returning to our planet’s surface intact and landing in a populated area, and it has raised questions about who is responsible when space debris causes damage on Earth.

“Space debris is a real and serious issue due to the increase in space traffic in recent years,” said family lawyer Mika Nguyen Worthy. He said In the current situation. “My clients are seeking appropriate compensation to take into account the stress and impact this event has had on their lives.”

Worthy noted that the homeowner’s 19-year-old son, Alejandro Otero, was in the home at the time of the accident but was a few rooms away from the collision and was not injured. “They are grateful that no one suffered physical injuries from this incident, but a near-death situation like this could have been catastrophic.”

The lawsuit against NASA, which was filed last month, seeks damages including loss of uninsured property, emotional and mental anguish and other damages.

NASA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

an agency He said In an April blog post, he stated that a “space object” recovered from Oteros’ home was involved in a March 2021 operation aboard the International Space Station.

At that time, NASA Released A 5,800-pound charging pallet of old nickel hydride batteries is expected to orbit the Earth for two to four years before burning up in the atmosphere.

But the agency said it believed the material that landed in Florida was a 1.6-pound metal strut from “NASA flight support equipment.”

“NASA remains committed to operating responsibly in low Earth orbit, mitigating as much risk as possible to protect people on Earth when space hardware must be launched,” the agency said in April.

Worthy said NASA would be held liable for damage caused by its space debris in any other country under the international agreement known as Space Liability Agreement.

But space law expert Mark Sundahl told NPR in April that the law becomes less clear when NASA material lands on US soil, making it a domestic legal issue.