"Family Nearly Injured by Space Debris Piercing Roof"… 100 Million Won Lawsuit Against NASA

ISS Parts Fell on Residential Roof Last March
Victimized Family Files Lawsuit to Set a Precedent

Space debris flying from outer space pierced the roof of a house in Florida, USA, nearly causing a serious accident for a family. The family has filed a lawsuit against NASA seeking damages worth $80,000 (approximately 100 million KRW). On the 22nd (local time), the British newspaper The Guardian reported on the recent lawsuit filed by the family against NASA.

[Photo by NASA]

The law firm Cranfill Sumner stated in a press release, “We filed the lawsuit on behalf of our client Alejandro Otero.” The metal structure of a cargo pallet released from the International Space Station (ISS) in 2021 fell onto a house in Naples, Florida, where the Otero family lives, on March 8, about three years later. Although there were no casualties, the roof and floor were severely damaged with large holes.

The Otero family said about the space debris, “There was a tremendous noise, and the object almost hit our son Daniel,” adding, “When I heard from my son, I thought it was a meteorite.” NASA collected the debris and analyzed it at the Kennedy Space Center, confirming that it came from flight support equipment of the ISS.

In 2021, NASA discarded a 2.6-ton battery pallet into space during the process of replacing the ISS batteries. This pallet was expected to remain in orbit for about 2 to 4 years before burning up in the atmosphere, but some parts of the structure survived atmospheric reentry and fell to the Earth's surface. The debris was identified as a cylindrical metal structure weighing 700g, 10 cm in height, and 4 cm in width, serving as a support for NASA flight support equipment used to mount batteries on the cargo pallet.

The Otero family has requested compensation from NASA for damages including uninsured property loss, business interruption, mental distress, and costs for support from third-party organizations. Mika Nguyen Wardy, the attorney handling the lawsuit, said, “We are grateful that no one was physically injured in this incident, but such a 'close call' could have been a disaster. If the debris had struck just a few feet in another direction, someone in the family could have suffered serious injury or death. Through this lawsuit, we aim to set a precedent for compensation for damages caused by space debris.”