WASHINGTON – NASA mentioned Tuesday it was analyzing an object that crashed from the sky right into a Florida man’s dwelling — which may effectively be a chunk of particles jettisoned from the International Space Station.
Alejandro Otero of Naples, Florida, posted on X that the merchandise “tore through the roof and went (through) 2 floors” of his home, nearly putting his son, on the afternoon of March 8.
He believes it was a chunk of a cargo pallet containing previous batteries that NASA floor management groups launched from the orbital outpost in 2021.
It was speculated to dissipate harmlessly over the Earth’s ambiance on March 8, in accordance with official projections. Otero additionally posted a clip from his dwelling Nest video digicam the place he mentioned the sound of it crashing by way of his roof may very well be heard at 2:34 pm.
“So that’s 1934 UTC, which is very consistent with the Space Force estimate of reentry over the Gulf at 1929 UTC,” wrote famous astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, in response. “I think you may be right and it’s a bit from the reentry of the EP-9 battery pallet.”
The news was first reported by native news outlet winknews.com on March 15.
“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,” the area company mentioned in a press release to AFP on Tuesday. “More information will be available once the analysis is complete.”
A report by specialist news outlet Ars Technica mentioned whereas the batteries had been owned by NASA, they had been connected to a pallet construction launched by Japan’s area company — doubtlessly complicating legal responsibility claims.
Past examples of artifical human area particles hitting Earth embrace a part of a SpaceX Dragon capsule touchdown on an Australian sheep farm in 2022. Skylab, the United States’ first area station, fell on Western Australia.
More just lately, China has been criticized by NASA for permitting its big Long March rockets to fall again to Earth after orbit. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
