Suing NASA? This Family Did Just That After Debris Crashed Into Their Home

When NASA’s space trash eventually floats back into Earth’s atmosphere it burns up due to the extreme heat, but not always apparently.

Transcript

00:00When NASA's space trash eventually floats back into Earth's atmosphere, it burns up due to

00:08extreme heat, but not always apparently. Just this past March, this piece of a cargo pallet

00:13did not burn up and instead came crashing through a family's home in Florida. Now that family has

00:19brought a lawsuit against NASA, saying the piece of debris caused over $80,000 worth of damages.

00:25The bit of space trash weighed just over one and a half pounds, but it was traveling at extreme

00:29speeds after falling from space. At the time of the incident, the family's son was at home.

00:34Luckily, no one was injured as a result of the incident, with the family's lawyers saying about

00:38it, quote, space debris is a real and serious issue because of the increase in space traffic in recent

00:44years, adding that they are grateful that no one sustained physical injuries from this incident.

00:48But a near-miss situation such as this could have been catastrophic. According to the family's

00:53attorney, NASA would be held responsible for an incident like this one had it occurred in any

00:58other country as per the Space Liability Convention. However, when it happens domestically,

01:03the law becomes much more opaque.