Florida family whose home was hit by space debris files suit against NASA

Homeowner Alejandro Otero previously told The Washington Post that he received a panicked call from his son on the day of the incident. He returned home to find the dense, cylindrical piece of charred metal slightly smaller than a soup can stuck in the wall, and knew immediately that “it was from outer space.”

“My clients are seeking appropriate compensation to take into account the stress and impact this event has had on their lives,” the family’s attorney, Mika Nguyen Worthy, said in a statement. New release. “If the debris had reached a few feet in another direction, there could have been a serious injury or death.”

NASA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the legal claim.

Previously NASA Certain The 1.6-pound cylindrical object that crashed into the roof of Otero's home was a piece of a 5,800-pound cargo platform carrying old nickel hydride batteries that was launched from the International Space Station in March 2021.

Space junk was expected to burn up upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, but it somehow survived, raising concerns about the possibility of such incidents increasing in the future.

“Space debris is a real and serious problem due to the increase in space traffic in recent years,” Worthy said.

Worthy said how NASA responded to this allegation could set a legal precedent for how it handles such incidents when they involve American citizens and residents. It is asking NASA to handle the family's case in the same way it would fulfill its obligations under it International space law.

In the case of international incidents, the “launching state” – the state that launched the object or the state from which it was launched – is responsible for any damage caused by the objects. In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union Agreed to pay Millions of dollars in compensation after a malfunctioning satellite burned over Canada.

“If the incident had occurred overseas, and someone in another country had been damaged by the same space debris as in the case of Oteros, the United States would have been fully responsible for paying those damages,” Worthy said.

Worthy did not immediately respond to questions about the claim, including the amount the family is seeking. She told the Science and Technology Bulletin Ars Technica The claim is “in excess of $80,000.”

NASA has six months to respond to the claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act, she said in the press release. The claim includes uninsured property damage loss, business interruption damages, emotional and mental damages, and third party assistance costs.

Praveena Somasundaram and Daniel Wu contributed to this report.