Piece of 5,800lb battery pallet tossed from NASA's ISS crashes through Florida ... trends now
A piece of metal came crashing through a home in Florida that is believed to be from a 5,800-pound battery pallet discarded by the International Space Station (ISS).
Naples homeowner Alejandro Otero was on vacation when he received a call from his son, saying he heard a 'tremendous sound' and there were gaping holes in the ceiling and floor - while explaining whatever fell almost hit him.
The two-pound, cylinder object has since been recovered by NASA to determine its origin and if found to be space junk, the agency could be liable for damages.
NASA tossed the pallet in 2021, expecting it would stay in orbit for two to four years before reentering the Earth's atmosphere in a controlled manner - but the unguided attempt caused it to have an off-course and unpredicted landing.
A two-pound object crashed into a man's home in Naples, Florida earlier this month, prompting an investigation by NASA into the space debris' origin
The space debris crashed through Alejandro Otero's roof and went through his floor (pictured) into the basement below.
NASA spokesperson Joshua Finch told Dailymail.com: 'NASA collected an item in cooperation with the homeowner, and will analyze the object at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as soon as possible to determine its origin.'
He added: 'More information will be available once the analysis is complete.'
The battery pallet was supposed to burn up over Ft. Myers but instead landed off-course on March 8 because astronomers had wrongly estimated the time it would reenter the Earth's atmosphere.
Otero shared pictures of the object on X, asking someone to connect him with NASA, and astronomer Jonathan McDowell responded, telling him it was likely an EP-9 pallet that reentered over the Gulf of Mexico, between Cancun and Cuba.
McDowell said that it was supposed to enter the atmosphere just before 7:30 pm UTC but its path to Ft. Myers was just a prediction window, adding that 'a couple minutes later reentry and it would have reached Ft Myers.'
'Something ripped through the house and then made a big hole on the floor and on the ceiling,' Otero told WINK News.
'When we heard that, we were like, impossible, and then immediately I thought a meteorite.'
