After space debris unexpectedly crashed into a residence in Florida, NASA conducted an investigation that determined the debris was battery equipment jettisoned from the ISS. The agency is now focused on understanding how such incidents can be prevented.

In March 2021, NASA ground controllers used the International Space Station’s robotic arm to release a cargo pallet of legacy nickel-hydride batteries from the space station following the delivery and installation of new lithium-ion batteries as part of a power upgrade at the orbital outpost. . . The total mass of equipment released from the space station was approximately 5,800 pounds.

The hardware was expected to burn up completely during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere on March 8, 2024. But some hardware survived reentry and crashed into a home in Naples, Florida. NASA collected the object in collaboration with its host and analyzed it at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

As part of the analysis, NASA completed an assessment of the object’s dimensions and properties compared to the launched equipment and performed a materials analysis. Based on the investigation, the agency determined that the debris supported NASA flight support equipment used to attach batteries to the cargo pallet. The object is made of Inconel metal alloy, weighs 1.6 pounds, is 4 inches high and is 1.6 inches in diameter.

The International Space Station will conduct a detailed study of launch and reentry analysis to determine the cause of debris survival and update simulations and analyzes as necessary. NASA experts use engineering models to predict how objects heat and break up during re-entry into the atmosphere. These models require detailed input parameters and are regularly updated when debris is found to have survived atmospheric reentry into the ground.

NASA continues to operate responsibly and minimize risks as much as possible in low Earth orbit to protect people on Earth when space equipment must be launched.