A piece of equipment discarded from the International Space Station crashed through the roof of a Florida Home last month, NASA confirmed on Monday.
The chunk of metal hit a home in Naples, Florida, on March 8, according to the agency. The cylindrical object was taken to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral where it was determined to be a metal support used to mount old batteries on a cargo pallet for disposal, according to Space.com.
Object that slammed into Florida home was indeed space junk from ISS, NASA confirms https://t.co/6DMyb19pWI pic.twitter.com/ScZd6GtcKn
— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) April 15, 2024
According to NASA, the pallet was jettisoned from the space station in 2021. It was believed that all of the load would burn up on reentry, but at least one piece survived.
The piece weighed about 1.6 pounds and was 4 inches tall and roughly 1 1/2 inches wide.
Homeowner Alejandro Otero told WINK-TV that he was on vacation when the piece hit his house, but his son told him what had happened. He said the mount tore a hole in the ceiling and damaged flooring in the home.
“I was shaking. I was completely in disbelief. What are the chances of something landing on my house with such force to cause so much damage,” Otero said. “I’m super grateful that nobody got hurt.”
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