NASA confirms that space debris from the ISS really fell on a house in Florida

NASA has confirmed suspicions that a strange object that recently crashed into a Florida home was indeed from the International Space Station (ISS), The Verge reports.

The agency analyzed the cylindrical object after it pierced the roof and two floors of a house on March 8. Eventually, NASA determined that it came from a cargo pallet with old batteries that was released from the ISS back in 2021.

NASA reported that the object was a support component used to mount batteries. Made of Inconel (a metal alloy that can withstand extreme conditions such as high temperature, pressure, or mechanical stress), the found support weighs about 700 grams and measures 10 cm in height and 4 cm in diameter.

Space debris often returns to Earth, such as rocket components, and usually burns up in the atmosphere. NASA said this should have happened this time, so they are now trying to figure out why it didn’t.