NASA faces $80,000 claim for space debris damage to family home
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NASA says the object has been part of a payload pallet containing used batteries jettisoned from the International Space Station as waste in 2021.
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Illustrative: Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. (AP)
A Florida family is seeking over $80,000 in damages from NASA after a small fragment of space debris crashed through their roof, announced Cranfill Sumner, a law firm, on Friday.
According to Cranfill Sumner, the issue of space debris has become more critical alongside growing space activity, and NASA's handling of this claim could establish a precedent for similar cases in the future.
On March 8, a 700-gram object struck Alejandro Otero's residence in Naples, Florida, causing damage to the roof.
NASA subsequently verified that the object was part of a payload pallet containing used batteries that had been jettisoned from the International Space Station as waste in 2021.
According to the US Space Agency, rather than completely disintegrating during reentry into Earth's atmosphere, a portion of the payload remained intact.
The law firm said that Otero's son was present at home when the object struck, noting that NASA has a six-month period to respond to the claim.
"My clients are seeking adequate compensation to account for the stress and impact that this event had on their lives," said lawyer Mica Nguyen Worthy.
"They are grateful that no one sustained physical injuries from this incident, but a ‘near miss’ situation such as this could have been catastrophic," the lawyer added.
"There could have been serious injury or a fatality."
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