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Family whose roof was damaged by space debris files claims against NASA (arstechnica.com)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Alejandro Otero, owner of the Naples, Florida, home struck by the debris, was not home when part of a battery pack from the International Space Station crashed through his home on March 8. His son Daniel, 19, was home but escaped injury. NASA has confirmed the 1.6-pound object, made of the metal alloy Inconel, was part of a battery pack jettisoned from the space station in 2021.

An attorney for the Otero family, Mica Nguyen Worthy, told Ars that she has asked NASA for "in excess of $80,000" for non-insured property damage loss, business interruption damages, emotional and mental anguish damages, and the costs for assistance from third parties.

"We intentionally kept it very reasonable because we did not want it to appear to NASA that my clients are seeking a windfall," Worthy said.

Seems reasonable to me. If I accidentally caused damages to someone's home, I'd certainly be held liable. But, I'm just some guy.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Yes. In low orbit like the space station they mostly deal with atmospheric drag, even just gas molecules cause it. The ISS is has a “reboost” on a regular basis, often from arriving spacecraft but it can use onboard thrusters.

At much higher orbits the gravity of the sun, moon, differences in earths gravity, and even the tiny force of photons from the sun striking the spacecraft (solar radiation pressure) contribute orbital decay. The Vanguard I satellite was the fourth satellite in space and was expected to stay up for 2000 years, but thanks to solar radiation pressure and some atmospheric drag it’s more like 240.