NASA has identified the mysterious object that crashed through the roof and ceiling of a Florida man’s home last month as a stanchion from the International Space Station (ISS). The space agency worked with the homeowner, Alejandro Otero, to collect and analyze the item at the Kennedy Space Center, confirming its origin.
In March 2021, astronauts released aging nickel hydride batteries weighing approximately 5,800 pounds from the ISS using its robotic arm. These batteries were replaced with new lithium-ion batteries as part of power upgrades on the orbital outpost. NASA expected the hardware to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere on March 8, 2024, but a piece survived and struck Otero’s house in Naples, Florida.
The recovered stanchion, made of Inconel, weighs 1.6 pounds, stands 4 inches tall, and has a diameter of 1.6 inches. It was part of the flight support equipment used to mount the ISS batteries on a cargo pallet.
Otero reached out to Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell on social media after the space debris left a hole in his roof and ceiling before tearing through the second-story floor. McDowell, who tracks Earth reentries on his website, assisted in identifying the object’s origin.
In response to the incident, NASA stated that the ISS would conduct a thorough investigation of the jettison and re-entry analysis to determine the cause of the debris survival and update modeling and analysis as needed. The space agency uses models to predict how objects will heat up and break apart during re-entry into the atmosphere, relying on specific details that are updated when debris survives and lands on the ground.
Although space parts frequently re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, they rarely cause damage to homes or humans. NASA remains committed to responsibly operating in low Earth orbit and mitigating as much risk as possible to protect people on Earth when space hardware must be released.
The incident serves as a reminder of the challenges and risks associated with space exploration and the importance of accurately predicting and tracking the re-entry of space debris to ensure public safety.
