Family Seeks Compensation From NASA Over Space Debris That Crashed Into Their Home | Science

In March 2021, NASA ground controllers used the International Space Station’s robotic arm to free a cargo pallet containing aging batteries. They launched about 2,600 kilograms of space debris into space. Three years later, on March 8, an object from this cargo crossed the ceiling and floor of Alejandro Otero’s home in Naples, Florida. Now their lawyers have filed what they call a landmark lawsuit against NASA for compensation. They claim that this is the first initiative of its kind and that it could set a precedent for future cases.

NASA scientists use engineering models to estimate how objects heat up and break apart as they enter the atmosphere, but this piece made it to Earth’s surface. It was a cylindrical object made of the metal alloy Inconel, about 10 centimeters high, 4 centimeters in diameter and weighing about 700 grams. Following analysis, NASA confirmed that the object originated from flight support equipment used to install batteries on the International Space Station’s cargo pallet and announced a detailed investigation of the launch and re-entry to determine the reason for the survival of the remains and update the information. models if necessary. These models require detailed input parameters and are updated periodically when debris is found to have survived re-entry.

Oteros hired attorney Mica Nguyen Worthy of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based law firm Cranfill Sumner to manage the legal and insurance process and file a formal claim against NASA. The family is seeking uninsured property damage, business interruption compensation, compensation for emotional/mental anguish, and the cost of third party assistance required in this process. The firm has not published the amount requested, which local media estimates is more than $80,000 (about 75,000 euros). In addition, the Otero homeowner’s insurer simultaneously filed a claim for property damage, the recovery of which was subrogated.

“Space debris is a real and serious problem due to the increase in space traffic in recent years,” Worthy said in a statement from his law firm announcing his lawsuit, which he calls “historic” and which he says will help establish a legal framework in this area. “My clients are seeking appropriate compensation to compensate for the stress and impact this event has had on their lives. They are grateful that no one was physically hurt in this incident, but a situation like this could have been catastrophic. “If the debris had fallen a few meters in a different direction, there could have been serious injuries or deaths,” he added in a statement.

International differences

Worthy filed a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) to fully assert a negligence claim on behalf of its clients. NASA has six months to respond. However, the lawyer argues that U.S. citizens should not sue under the legal theory of negligence, where the government has agreed to be “absolutely liable” under international treaties for damage to people or goods on the surface of the Earth caused by its space. objects.

“If an incident occurred overseas and someone in another country were injured by the same space debris as in the Oteros case, the United States would be absolutely liable to pay for those damages under the Convention on International Damage Liability. caused by Space Objects, also known as the “Space Liability Convention”. “We have asked NASA not to apply different standards to American citizens or residents, but to deal with the Oteros and compensate them,” Worthy said in a statement.

The lawyer believes NASA has the opportunity to set a precedent by taking responsibility. “If NASA were to take the position that Otero’s claims should be paid in full, it would send a strong signal to both other governments and the private sector that such victims should be compensated regardless of fault,” he notes.

Space junkyard

Low Earth orbit is a cosmic junkyard. There are millions of pieces of space junk flying around in space at full speed. Most of the orbital junk consists of man-made objects such as spacecraft debris, small splatters of spacecraft paint, rocket parts, satellites that are no longer functional, or explosions from orbiting objects flying through planetary space at high speed, according to NASA.

Most space debris moves very quickly and can reach speeds of 29,000 kilometers per hour, which is almost seven times faster than a bullet. Due to the speed and volume of space debris, current and future space services, exploration and operations pose a risk to the safety of people and property in space and on Earth, as the US space agency itself acknowledges.

There are no international space laws allowing such debris to be removed from orbit, and its removal is expensive. The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates that there are currently more than a million pieces of space debris larger than one centimeter in size and 130 million pieces larger than 1 millimeter and less than one centimeter in Earth orbit. Each of these objects, especially the largest ones, is capable of causing catastrophic damage to space assets. ESA says that unless rapid and significant steps are taken to improve the sustainability of space activities, the exponential growth of this amount of debris will pose an increasing danger to satellites and astronauts and could render some orbits completely useless.

Twelve European countries (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, UK, Romania and Sweden) recently signed the ESA/EU Space Council Zero Waste Charter, which aims to achieve waste neutrality. in space by 2030. The initiative was announced at the ESA Space Summit in Seville in November 2023.

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