Naples, Florida – A mysterious object that crashed into a home in Naples last month has been confirmed by NASA to have originated from the International Space Station (ISS). The cylindrical object tore through the roof and two floors of the house on March 8th, prompting an analysis by the space agency. It was determined that the object came from a cargo pallet of aging batteries released from the ISS in 2021.
NASA disclosed in a recent blog post that the offending object was a support component used to mount the batteries on the pallet released from the space station. Composed of Inconel, a durable metal alloy, the recovered stanchion weighs 1.6 pounds and measures 4 inches high by 1.6 inches in diameter. Interestingly, the size of the stanchion is slightly smaller than a standard can of Red Bull.
While debris from space activities occasionally returns to Earth, it usually disintegrates in the atmosphere. This incident raises questions as to why the object did not burn up as expected during re-entry. NASA stated that a detailed investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the debris survival and to update relevant models and analysis.
It is not uncommon for remnants of space missions, such as those from SpaceX or the China National Space Administration, to find their way back to Earth. Normally, such debris would burn up upon re-entering the atmosphere. NASA highlighted that the object in question should have met the same fate but did not, leading to further scrutiny and analysis by the space agency.