A newly filed lawsuit against NASA by a Florida family whose house sustained damage from space debris could set a legal precedent, according to the law firm behind the suit.
NASA confirmed in April that a cargo pallet released from the International Space Station under direction from its ground controllers hit a home in Naples, Florida, rather than burning up during reentry. The impact created a sizable hole in the roof through the sub-flooring of the home of Alejandro Otero while his son was present, according to the law firm Cranfill Sumner, and the family is now seeking damages for non-insured property loss, business interruption, emotional and mental anguish, and the costs related to assistance from third parties.
“Space debris is a real and serious issue because of the increase in space traffic in recent years,” lawyer Mica Nguyen Worthy said in a statement from the law firm. Worthy has written in the past about a theory known as the Kessler Effect, which suggests that the density of space debris in low earth orbit could become so great that it cause “catastrophic” collisions collisions with “cascading” effects.
The law firm called the family’s claim historic because it represents a “real-life example” of the impact of space-debris reaching earth’s surface and said that it could “form the foundation upon which the legal landscape in this field will be built.”
NASA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from NPR.
“My clients are seeking adequate compensation to account for the stress and impact that this event had on their lives,” Worthy said in a statement. “They are grateful that no one sustained physical injuries from this incident, but a ‘near miss’ situation such as this could have been catastrophic. If the debris had hit a few feet in another direction, there could have been serious injury or a fatality.”