NASA Reports Part of International Space Station Crashed Into Florida Home

A chunk of the International Space Station that was released three years ago crashed into a Florida home last month, NASA confirmed in a news release on Monday. A cargo pallet was released from the space station in March 2021. It was filled with aging batteries. When released, it was supposed to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere without any harm, but a piece didn’t burn and eventually landed in a house in Naples.

“I was shaking. I was completely in disbelief. What are the chances of something landing on my house with such force to cause so much damage. I’m super grateful that nobody got hurt,” Mr Otero told The Associated Press.

The space agency identified the object as a metal support used for mounting old batteries on a cargo pallet for disposal. This pallet was released from the space station in 2021, and while the expectation was for the load to completely burn up upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, a portion of it survived. The surviving piece of metal weighed 1.6 pounds and measured 4 inches tall and approximately 1 1/2 inches width.