Florida family files claim with NASA after ISS space junk crashes into home

The International Space Station jettisons a 2.9-ton pallet carrying used batteries on March 11, 2021. This photo was posted on Twitter by NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins.
A white rectangular structure falls to Earth. (Image credit: NASA/Mike Hopkins)

The growing problem of space debris isn't just one that plagues Earth's orbit. Several instances of space trash crashing back down to Earth have made recent headlines, and one family is requesting that NASA pay for the damages. 

The space agency has a claim on its hands after a chunk of space junk crashed through Alejandro Otero's seaside home in Naples, Florida. The incident occurred on March 8, as debris tore through the roof and two floors of his family home, nearly hitting his son, Otero said in a now-deleted post on X

NASA has since confirmed the debris came from a 2.9-ton pallet of used batteries jettisoned from the International Space Station in March of 2021; the structure was expected to burn up completely in Earth's atmosphere. Otero speculated as much in posts online following the incident, and voiced his expectation that the responsible parties be held accountable. "[The Otero family is] grateful that no one sustained physical injuries from this incident, but a 'near miss' situation such as this could have been catastrophic," said Mica Nguyen Worthy in a statement from the law firm representing the family.

In the letter, Worthy points out that, under the Space Liability Convention, NASA would be liable had the debris caused damage in another country, and thinks that policy should apply within the United States as well. "We have asked NASA not to apply a different standard towards U.S. citizens or residents, but instead to take care of the Oteros and make them whole," Worthy said. 

Related: Space debris from SpaceX Dragon capsule crashed in the North Carolina mountains. I had to go see it (video)

The incident has the potential to set a precedent for governments and private space companies in terms of how compensation could be handled for victims of similar incidents in the future. Though their damage was less severe than that caused at the Otero home, several other reports of crashing space debris have occurred in the past year as well, including portions of a SpaceX Dragon trunk found in Canada and North Carolina, and a piece of an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) rocket landing on a beach in Australia.

"Here, the U.S. 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," Worthy said.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 3:15 p.m. ET to clarify that the Florida family has filed a claim with NASA about the space junk incident. The original version said that NASA was being sued, which is not correct.

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Josh Dinner
Writer, Content Manager

Josh Dinner is Space.com's Content Manager. He is a writer and photographer with a passion for science and space exploration, and has been working the space beat since 2016. Josh has covered the evolution of NASA's commercial spaceflight partnerships, from early Dragon and Cygnus cargo missions to the ongoing development and launches of crewed missions from the Space Coast, as well as NASA science missions and more. He also enjoys building 1:144 scale models of rockets and human-flown spacecraft. Find some of Josh's launch photography on Instagram and his website, and follow him on Twitter, where he mostly posts in haiku.

  • COLGeek
    Oops! But one heck of a family story (legend)!
    Reply
  • Mergatroid
    So what happens if someone dies? Is it not time to update rules and laws regarding space garbage?
    If someone dies, "oops,we thought it would burn up" just isn't good enough. These things should only be thrown overboard if they have strict calculations showing they will land in the ocean if they don't bun up. If they cannot make this guarantee, then it's high time they stopped disposing of hardware in this fashion. I don't think anyone on this planet agreed to live with the threat of this stuff falling on them.
    Reply
  • COLGeek
    Mergatroid said:
    So what happens if someone dies? Is it not time to update rules and laws regarding space garbage?
    If someone dies, "oops,we thought it would burn up" just isn't good enough. These things should only be thrown overboard if they have strict calculations showing they will land in the ocean if they don't bun up. If they cannot make this guarantee, then it's high time they stopped disposing of hardware in this fashion. I don't think anyone on this planet agreed to live with the threat of this stuff falling on them.
    I hear you. What about some other object from space, like a meteorite? Theoretically possible.

    International conventions to work this would be key to making useful. Lots of stuff from lots of nations floating about in orbit.
    Reply
  • Cisventure Astronot
    Mergatroid said:
    So what happens if someone dies? Is it not time to update rules and laws regarding space garbage?
    If someone dies, "oops,we thought it would burn up" just isn't good enough. These things should only be thrown overboard if they have strict calculations showing they will land in the ocean if they don't bun up. If they cannot make this guarantee, then it's high time they stopped disposing of hardware in this fashion. I don't think anyone on this planet agreed to live with the threat of this stuff falling on them.

    I agree. But, to be fair, they probably had "strict calculations showing they will" burn up completely in Earth's atmosphere.

    I hope that the Otero family is compensated for this otherwise-crippling disaster.
    Reply
  • jeb123
    obviously, NASA needs to get the checkbook out.
    Reply
  • Coinneach
    https://www.space.com/electromagnetic-launch-moon-mass-drive?utm_term=B6FBBE8E-5653-4DCD-8C09-A4824E39CB2A&lrh=edad7d5ab3d447adafaf2c24c3870fae82114f2261f9d2294d21753d99231c9c&utm_campaign=58E4DE65-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9&utm_medium=email&utm_content=C027802A-872A-4D9F-A7E3-EB5073277D31&utm_source=SmartBrief
    Looks as if we'll soon have mining containers from the moon raining down on us too
    Reply
  • Unclear Engineer
    It seems silly that this family would need to hire a lawyer and sue NASA. NASA has admitted that it is a piece of there trash that they intentionally jettisoned to reenter the atmosphere. There needs to be a compensation fund for damages that are indisputably caused by NASA.
    Reply
  • nemodot
    Newbie question here: How do you deorbit ISS trash without a thruster?
    Reply
  • Classical Motion
    It's in the returned cargo and experiments. The trash can be left in the service module to burn up, or can be brought back down with capsule. In all likelihood they label and screen feces. Urine is recycled. Disposables are brought back or burned up on re-entry.

    I'm not an expert but there are many articles and reports about this thru the years. And it's probably under constant review and updated.

    But I don't believe they litter. They have to dodge litter every once in a while.
    Reply
  • Unclear Engineer
    In the case of this particular debris, I don't think a cargo ship was involved in the reentry. I think it was just a pallet of used batteries that was literally shoved away from the station by the robotic arm, in the retrograde direction. See https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/03/12/garbage-pallet-jettisoned-from-space-station-will-stay-in-orbit-two-to-four-years/ .
    Reply