A meteorite ravages his house: but what's NASA doing?
On March 8, in the town of Naples, Florida (USA), Alejandro Otera thought he was going to die. With an unmistakable racket, his house was ravaged by a mysterious object from the sky.
The roof of his house was torn open by the impact. The object, whose origin remains unknown, went through both floors of the house.
Alejandro was first surprised by a deafening noise inside his house. He told Wink News: "When we heard it, we were suspicious, and then I immediately thought of a meteorite (...) What are the chances of an object landing on my house with such force and causing so much damage? And what damage! No roof and a house with holes in it from top to bottom. Luckily, no one was hurt.
A lost piece of battery
According to NASA, the object was not a meteorite, but “a piece of a used battery carried aboard the International Space Station (ISS)”. A metal object weighing no more than a kilogram. Normally, debris from the ISS disintegrates before landing on the ground. With a few exceptions.
Today, Alejandro Otero's lawyer, Mica Nguyen Worthy, is claiming nearly $75,000 from Nasa to repair the psychological and material damage caused by the falling object. “My clients are asking for adequate compensation to take into account the stress and consequences this event has had on their lives. They're happy that no one was injured, but [...] if the debris had fallen a few meters in another direction, there could have been serious injury or death.”
Mica Nguyen Worthy also insists that if the object had fallen on a building abroad, “the United States would have been absolutely obliged to pay for that damage” under an international treaty. “We ask Nasa not to apply a different rule for American citizens or residents", reports L'Indépendant.
(MH with AsD - Source : Demotivateur - Illustration : Unsplash)