Family demands $80,000 from Nasa after space junk smashed through their home

A family from Florida is suing Nasa after a piece of the International Space Station (ISS) smashed through their home. 

Law firm Cranfill Sumner, which is representing the family, said the case against the American space agency is the first of its kind, and will ‘form the foundation’ for similar claims in the future as space debris has become a ‘real and serious issue.’ 

The incident happened on March 8, when Alejandro Otero said in a since-deleted post on X that the debris had torn through the roof and two floors of his family home in Naples, Florida – almost hitting his son.

Now, the family wants $80,000 (£63,000) in compensation ‘to account for the stress and impact that this event had on their lives’, according to their lawyers. 

Cranfill Sumner said the family is ‘grateful that no one sustained physical injuries from this incident, but a “near miss” situation such as this could have been catastrophic’.

At the time, Mr Otero told WINK news: ‘I was shaken, I was completely in disbelief – what are the chances of something landing on my house with such force, to cause so much damage?

‘Obviously I’m super grateful no one got hurt.’

Following analysis of the debris, Nasa has confirmed that the piece of space junk came from a 2.9-ton pallet of used batteries that was jettisoned from the ISS in March 2021.

It said the object is made of Inconel, a metal alloy, weighs less than a kilo and is four inches long and 1.6 inches wide. 

‘The hardware was expected to fully burn up during entry through Earth’s atmosphere on March 8, 2024,’ Nasa said. 

‘However, a piece of hardware survived re-entry and impacted a home in Naples, Florida.’

Nasa said that the debris fell to Earth after ground controllers used a robotic arm on the space station to release a cargo pallet containing ‘ageing batteries’. 

Initially it was suggested that Mr Otero might have had to sue Japan, according to Michelle Hanlon, executive director of the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi.

‘If it is a human-made space object which was launched into space by another country, which caused damage on Earth, that country would be absolutely liable to the homeowner for the damage caused,’ she said, speaking to Ars Technica.

And as the batteries were owned by Nasa but the pallet was made by Japan then Mr Otereo may have needed to lodge his claim with Japan. 

However, according to Cranfill Sumner, under the Space Liability Convention, Nasa would have been liable if the debris caused damage in another country, and the firm thinks that policy should apply within the US as well. 

‘We have asked Nasa not to apply a different standard towards US citizens or residents, but instead to take care of the Oteros.’ 

Luckily for us, except possibly lawyers, getting hit by space debris is a rare occurrence. 

Only one person, Lottie Williams, is thought to have been hit by space junk.

In 1997, Ms Williams was struck on the shoulder by a piece of metal while walking in a park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although never 100% verified as space debris, Nasa confirmed the timing and location was consistent with the path of a Delta rocket as it broke up over the country.