The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has confirmed that the mysterious object that hit the roof of a house in the US state of Florida last month was a piece of the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA said in a statement that they had expected a cargo pallet, which has been slowly moving towards Earth's orbit since 2021, to return to Earth in a controlled manner, but a piece fell on the roof of a house in Florida on March 8.
NASA had previously predicted that the pallet would burn completely upon entering the atmosphere.
"In March 2021, NASA ground controllers used the International Space Station's robotic arm to release a cargo pallet containing aging nickel hydride batteries from the space station following the delivery and installation of new lithium-ion batteries as part of power upgrades at the orbiting outpost," the statement said.
The pallet was expected to burn completely during entry into the Earth's atmosphere on March 8, 2024. "However, a piece of hardware did not burn and fell onto the roof of a house in Naples, Florida."
Meanwhile, NASA retrieved the object in cooperation with the homeowner and analyzed it at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The analysis determined that the fallen object was a piece of NASA flight support equipment used to mount batteries to the cargo pallet.
It weighed 1.6 kilograms, was 4 inches high and 1.6 inches in diameter, made of Inconel metal alloy.
