The piece of debris that fell through the roof of Alejandro Otero (right) came from a prop jettisoned from the International Space Station.
A Southwest Florida homeowner has officially filed a lawsuit against NASA for damages caused by a piece of space debris that fell through his roof in March.
The legal case is unprecedented—apparently no one has brought such a claim against NASA before. How the space agency responds will set a precedent, and that could be important in a world of ever-increasing activity in orbit, where space debris and vehicles increasingly enter Earth’s atmosphere unchecked.
Alejandro Otero, owner of a Naples, Fla., home hit by debris, was not home when part of a battery from the International Space Station fell through his home on March 8. His son Daniel, 19, was at home but escaped injury. NASA has confirmed that a 1.6-pound object made of Inconel metal alloy was part of a battery jettisoned from the space station in 2021.
The Otero family’s attorney, Mica Nguyen Worthy, told Ars that she is asking NASA for “more than $80,000” in uninsured property loss, business interruption damages, emotional and mental distress and third-party assistance costs. parties.
“We intentionally kept it very reasonable because we didn’t want it to appear to NASA that my clients were looking for a windfall,” Worthy said.
The family has not filed a lawsuit against NASA, at least not yet. Worthy said she is having productive conversations with NASA attorneys. She said the Otero family wants to be whole for their losses, but also to set a precedent for future victims. “This is really the first legal claim that has been brought to recover damages related to space debris,” Worthy said. “How NASA responds will, in my opinion, be the foundation of how future claims are handled. That really changes the legal landscape.”
Who exactly is responsible for space debris?
If space debris from another country — say, the upper stage of a Chinese or Russian rocket — hit a family in the United States, the victims would be entitled to compensation under the Outer Space Liability Convention, which space powers agreed upon half a century ago. According to this treaty, the launching state is “absolutely” responsible for compensation for damage caused by its space objects on the surface of the Earth or aircraft, and is liable for damage caused by its errors in space. In an international situation, NASA or another US government agency would negotiate on behalf of the victim for compensation.
In this case, however, the debris came from the International Space Station: an old battery that NASA was responsible for. NASA completed a multi-year upgrade of the space station’s power system in 2020 by installing the last set of new lithium-ion batteries to replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries that were reaching the end of their useful lives. During the spacewalk, this battery was mounted on a cargo pallet launched by Japan.
Officials originally planned to place pallets of old batteries in a series of Japanese supply cargo ships for controlled, destructive returns across the ocean. However, due to a series of delays, the last pallet of old batteries missed their way back to Earth, so NASA discarded the batteries and performed an unguided return. NASA incorrectly believed that the batteries would burn up completely during atmospheric reentry.
Because this case does not fall under the Outer Space Liability Convention, there is no mechanism for a US citizen to pursue space debris damage claims against the US government. So the Otero family is bringing the first-ever falling space debris claim under the Federal Torts Claim Act. This tort law allows someone to sue the US government if it was negligent. In this case, the negligence could be that NASA miscalculated the survival of enough debris to damage property on Earth.
NASA provided the Otero family with an application form, which Worthy said they did in late May. NASA now has six months to review the claims. The space agency has several options. Legally, she could compensate the Otero family up to $25,000 for each of her claims under the federal Tort Act (see Code). If the agency seeks to pay full restitution, it will require approval from the U.S. attorney general. Ultimately, NASA could reject the claims or make an unacceptable settlement offer — in which case the Otero family could file a federal lawsuit in Florida.
Ars has requested comment from NASA on the claims made and will update this story when we receive one.