Last month, a metal fragment pierced the roof of a Florida home, potentially originating from an "equipment pallet" discarded by the International Space Station. The homeowner may be entitled to compensation if the object is confirmed to be from the space station. NASA is investigating after a resident of southern Florida claimed his home in Naples was severely damaged by an object that fell from space. Alejandro Otero was on vacation when his son informed him of the incident on the afternoon of 9 March.
Otero described the object as "ripping through the house, making a big hole in the floor and ceiling," in an interview with WINK News, adding that he immediately thought it was a meteorite that nearly hit his son.
Upon his return, Otero found a cylindrical object a few inches long and weighing about 2 lbs. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, stated that just five minutes before the incident, an "equipment pallet" from space reentered Earth's atmosphere, heading for the Gulf of Mexico.
McDowell explained that the pallet, intended for an unguided re-entry, deviated slightly northeast of its path and would have reached Ft. Meyers, approximately an hour's drive from Naples, if it had entered the atmosphere a couple of minutes later.
The European Space Agency noted that while some parts of space debris may reach the ground, the risk of casualties is very low.
Otero said he had contacted NASA about the damage but had not received a response at the time. However, a NASA representative told Ars Technica that engineers now have the object and will analyze it soon to determine its origin.
If the object is confirmed to be from the space station, Otero could be eligible for compensation. However, if it is determined to be foreign-made, his claim could be more complex, according to an expert interviewed by the publication. NASA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.