NASA Sued Over Falling Space Junk

Picture it: you are at home one fine day, and the next moment something falls out of the night sky and bullets through your home, destroying part of your house along its path. For a Floridian family, this became reality, and now they are launching a lawsuit against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The space debris was later identified by NASA as a stanchion component of the International Space Station, which had jettisoned the cargo pallet in 2021. It was expected to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere upon re-entry;unfortunately, it remained intact and crashed through the Naples, Florida home of Alejandro Otero on the night of 8 March.

The piece of metal – which barely weighs a kilogram, is ten centimetres in length and four centimetres in diameter – was estimated to have reached a terminal velocity of over 160 kilometres per hour when it hit Otero’s roof, narrowly missing his adult son.

Mica Nguyen Worthy, the family’s attorney, has brought forth a $80 000-case against NASA for “stress and impact” relating to the incident.

The legal action highlights a greater need for official safety and sustainability protocols regarding space junk, and could set a precedent for influencing future instances.

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