The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has revealed the mystery behind an unknown object that crashed through the roof of a Florida home last month. The US space agency said it was a piece of space junk from equipment discarded from the International Space Station (ISS).
A cylindrical object that tore through a house in Naples was brought to the Kennedy Space Center for analysis on March 8.
NASA confirmed it was a metal bracket used to mount old batteries on a cargo pallet for disposal.
NASA shares an image of Cigar Galaxy taken using the Hubble and Webb Telescope
“Based on the investigation, the agency determined that the debris is a support of the NASA flight support equipment used to mount the batteries on the cargo pallet,” NASA said in a blog post.
The junk weighed 0.7 kilograms. It was 4 inches long and about 1 1/2 inches wide.
“The object is made of the metal alloy Inconel, weighs 0.7 kilograms, is 10 centimeters high and has a diameter of 1.6 inches,” it added.
The pallet was jettisoned from the space station in 2021 and the payload was expected to eventually burn up completely upon entry into Earth's atmosphere, but one piece survived.
The US space agency also pledged to investigate how the debris survived after being completely destroyed in the atmosphere, adding that it would update its technical models accordingly.
Look | NASA's Hubble Telescope captures a beautiful collection of stars
“NASA remains committed to operating responsibly in low Earth orbit, and mitigating as many risks as possible to protect people on Earth when space equipment must be released,” the report said.
Last month, Alejandro Otero told television station WINK that his son told him an object tore through their house.
“I was shaking. I was in disbelief. What are the chances of something hitting my house with that much force and causing that much damage,” he said.
Pluto declared the 'official state planet' of this American state
Past examples of man-made space debris hitting Earth include part of a SpaceX Dragon capsule that landed on an Australian sheep farm in 2022. Skylab, the United States' first space station, fell on Western Australia.
. recently, China has been criticized by NASA for allowing its giant Long March rockets to fall back to Earth after orbit.
Unlock a world of benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time inventory management, breaking news and a personalized news feed – it's all there, just one click away! Log in now!
View all business news, market news, breaking news events and breaking news updates on DailyExertNews. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates.
. or less
Published: Apr 16, 2024 07:51 IST