NAPLES, Fla. — NASA confirmed Monday that the mysterious object that crashed through the roof of a Florida home last month was a chunk of space debris from discarded equipment on the International Space Station.
The cylindrical object that crashed through a Naples home on March 8 was later taken to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral for analysis.
The space agency said it was a metal support. Used to attach to cargo pallets for disposal of old batteries.
The pallets were jettisoned from the space station in 2021, and although the cargo was expected to eventually burn up completely upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, only one survived.
The chunk of metal weighed 1.6 pounds (0.7 kilograms), was 4 inches (10 centimeters) high, and approximately 1 1/2 inches (4 centimeters) wide.
Homeowner Alejandro Otero He told TV station WINK. When he was on vacation, his son told him what had happened.
Otero returned home early to check on the house and found an object smashing through the ceiling and tearing up the floor.
“I was shaking. I was in complete disbelief. What are the chances that something could land on my house with that much force and cause so much damage?” Otero said. Ta. “We’re just thankful no one was hurt.”
