You are ready to pull the trigger on a home security system. Meanwhile, your spouse thinks home security is a waste of money. Now you are looking for reasons to justify the expenditure. Bring up the possibility of home burglary. Talk about fire and carbon monoxide poisoning. But whatever you do, don’t bring up falling space junk. That’s not a reason likely to convince anyone.
Why bring up space junk? Because a homeowner in Naples, FL believes his house was recently hit by debris jettisoned from the International Space Station (ISS). Whatever hit his home did so with such force that it broke through the roof and the two floors below. NASA now has the object and is attempting to figure out its origin.
Meanwhile, the man’s home security system recorded the entire event – at least the sounds anyway. The nearest camera was in a different room so there is no video footage.
What Might Have Happened
News reports say that astronauts on the ISS jettisoned a pallet of used lithium-ion batteries back in 2021. NASA expected the batteries to eventually reach earth’s atmosphere. But they also expected them to burn up during re-entry. No one was expecting any debris to survive. Perhaps some of it did.
An astronomer from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics was apparently following the debris re-entry on March 8. He posted a comment to his X account suggesting that the debris would have reached Fort Myers, FL had it re-entered the atmosphere a couple of minutes later than it did. This implies that the astronomer believed at least some of the debris made it to Earth’s surface.
After seeing the post, the Naples homeowner replied by indicating what had happened to his home. For the record, Naples is only about forty miles from Fort Myers. That is nothing when you are talking about trying to pinpoint where space junk will land.
At any rate, NASA was eventually contacted and obtained the cylindrical piece of space debris. They are now analyzing it. Meanwhile, I am wondering who is going to pay for the damage to the man’s house if it turns out it was struck by something jettisoned from space.
At Least He Has the Sounds
Let us assume that NASA comes to the same conclusion the homeowner reached: the 2 lb. piece of debris is part of the pallet jettisoned by the ISS astronauts. Will the homeowner file a lawsuit? And if so, against whom?
He doesn’t have actual video footage of the space junk hitting his home. But at least he has the sounds. His home security system recorded them along with video footage in another room. He has evidence that something happened, even if he cannot prove the piece of debris formerly in his possession was responsible.
If nothing else, the incident demonstrates just how valuable home security equipment can be. Even though there is no video evidence of the event, there is audio evidence. That evidence can be used to support any claims the homeowner might make.
According to Vivint Smart Home, video and audio evidence can also be utilized by police officers investigating property crimes. Sometimes the evidence is admissible in court as well. So even though falling space junk may not be a legitimate reason to invest in home security, there are plenty of other reasons for doing so.
Space junk aside, a home security system can be an immense help in the event of burglary, fire, carbon monoxide leak, flood, and health emergencies. Personally, I think it is worth investing in. But that is just my opinion.
