By 
April 2nd, 2024
Image credit: Barbara David
Wait a minute!
Is there a possible connection between that ISS battery pallet reentry last month and an object crashing through a person’s ceiling and floor in Florida?
A high-speed cylindrical object reportedly fell through the roof of Alejandro Otero’s home in Naples, Florida last month.
Image credit: WINK News/Inside Outer Space screengrab
According to WINK News – a CBS station in southwest Florida – an apparent human-made cylindrical-shaped object weighing nearly two pounds smashed through the ceiling and tore through the floor of Otero’s house.
Image credit: WINK News/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Otero told WINK News that he thought it could be related to the ISS battery pack reentry.
Final trajectory
According to satellite skywatcher, Marco Langbroek, the time and location indeed matches with the final trajectory for the multi-ton Exposed Pallet 9 (EP9) and its battery stack that reentered the Earth’s atmosphere on March 8.
Image credit: NASA
In reaching out to NASA Kennedy Space Center, space agency spokesperson Joshua Finch told Inside Outer Space: “NASA collected an item in cooperation with the homeowner, and will analyze the object at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as soon as possible to determine its origin. More information will be available once the analysis is complete.”
As for when that analysis would be finished, Finch added: “It would be inappropriate to speculate on the timeline for completing the examination. We will provide more information after the object is analyzed.”
Multi-ton leftover
Here’s the overall background regarding that nearly 3-ton leftover tossed overboard from the International Space Station. The multi-ton Exposed Pallet 9 (EP9) was robot-arm jettisoned from the space station back in March 2021.
At the time, it was reported to be the most massive object ever tossed overboard from the International Space Station.
The European Space Agency (ESA) Space Debris and Independent Safety Offices were closely monitoring the reentry of the pallet of used ISS batteries.
The batteries, nine in total, will undergo “a natural reentry” said ESA pre-reentry, predicted between approximately 15:35 CET and 22:25 CET on March 8.
“The total mass of the batteries is estimated at 2.6 metric tonnes, most of which may burn up during the reentry,” the ESA statement adds. “While some parts may reach the ground, the casualty risk – the likelihood of a person being hit – is very low.”
Here’s the original WINK News story: “Object from the sky crashes through Naples family’s ceiling and floor” at:
https://winknews.com/2024/03/15/object-crashes-through-naples-ceiling-floor/
For more details on this incident, check out an excellent story by Stephen Clark of Ars Technica at:
Posted in Space News
