Space debris that originated from NASA hit a Florida homeowner's house, the family claims, after filing a formal claim asking the space feds to pay $80k+ to "make them whole".
The homeowner in question, Alejandro Otero, claims the space debris hit the family home on March 8, according to his attorney Mica Nguyen Worthy. Worthy is a partner in the Charlotte office of Cranfill Sumner LLP and chairs her firm's Aviation & Aerospace Practice Group. Nobody was injured due to the impact, according to her law firm, which has stated that only Otero's son Daniel was home and not near the crash site.
The debris "left a sizable hole from the roof through the sub-flooring," said his attorneys.
NASA confirmed in April this year that the debris, part of a battery pack it had jettisoned from the International Space Station back in 2021, impacted a home in Naples, Florida. Otero's counsel told with The Register that it was undisputed that the space debris NASA confirmed was from its flight support equipment was the same that impacted the Oteros' home.
NASA said it would not be appropriate for the agency to comment on a pending claim.
The Oteros are claiming the space debris really did a number on their home, and the family's legal team confirmed that it is seeking costs and more from NASA to cover repairs, business interruptions, and emotional damages. There were three claims for the Otero family and they were all submitted to NASA on May 15, 2024, totalling in excess of $80,000, she confirmed.
Worthy said: "If the incident had happened overseas, and someone in another country were damaged by the same space debris as in the Oteros' case, the US would have been absolutely liable to pay for those damages under the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects also known as the 'Space Liability Convention.'
"We have asked NASA not to apply a different standard towards US citizens or residents, but instead to take care of the Oteros and make them whole," she said.
"Here, the US government, through NASA, has an opportunity to set the standard or 'set a precedent' as to what responsible, safe, and sustainable space operations ought to look like. If NASA were to take the position that the Oteros' claims should be paid in full, it would send a strong signal to both other governments and private industries that such victims should be compensated regardless of fault."
The law firm said it had been consulted to help the Oteros "navigate the insurance and legal process and to make a formal claim against NASA" and added regarding the claim it sent to the space agency: "Under the FTCA, NASA will have six months to respond to the claims."
Even in the event that something is on a collision course with Earth, the atmosphere can just burn it up during re-entry. That's apparently what NASA thought was going to happen with this battery part.
To be clear, it's not the first time space debris has ever landed and caused harm to something or someone, but such incidents have so far been very rare.
If NASA does end up settling with the Oteros, it could establish precedence that government organizations have to be responsible for their space debris. Precedence for this might have already been established, at least partly, when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined DISH for not moving one of its old satellites far enough from Earth, which the FCC said "could pose orbital debris concerns." ®
Source: The register