In a bizarre turn of events, a mysterious object crashed through a house in Florida, possibly debris from the International Space Station (ISS). The cylindrical tube, weighing nearly 2 pounds, tore through the roof and two floors of Alejandro Otero’s home in Naples, Florida, at 2:34 p.m. local time on March 8. Startlingly, Otero’s son was just two rooms away from the impact. The origins of the object are still under investigation, but Otero suspects it may be one of the nine drained batteries discarded from the ISS. This incident coincided with the reentry of a large cargo pallet carrying the batteries over the Gulf of Mexico earlier that day. Jettisoned from the space station in 2021, the debris was expected to burn up in the atmosphere, but at least one piece may have survived reentry.
Was the object hot?
My first question for Alejandro Otero on seeing this is if he owns a Geiger counter and if he checked the object with it. It should not be radioactive, probably. Holger Krag, head of ESA’s Space Safety Program Office, told the German news service Tagesschau that the batteries that are used in space on the ICC are no different than batteries that we use on Earth. (It depends on who this “we” is because ESA may use radium batteries, for example.) Anway, he says the batteries (if that’s what this object is) do not pose any major danger beyond the mechanical danger that comes from just the object falling.[6]
The European Space Agency (ESA) is not known to be currently using radioactive batteries, however, ESA is exploring the use of americium, a radioactive element derived from plutonium decay, to develop batteries for space missions. These batteries are being designed to generate sufficient heat to warm equipment and generate electricity for various functions in space exploration. The use of americium in batteries is part of a project aimed at reducing reliance on plutonium-238, which is challenging and expensive to produce. The development of these batteries is expected to provide ESA with more cost-effective and easier-to-produce power sources for space missions[7][8].
What are Americium batteries?
Americium in batteries is typically in the form of a radioactive isotope, Americium-241, which is produced during the radioactive decay of used fuel from nuclear reactors. This isotope emits power for over 400 years and is used in space batteries, also known as Radioisotope Power Systems (RPSs), to release heat as the radioactivity within them decays. This heat can be used directly to prevent spacecraft from freezing and it can be converted into electricity to power onboard systems. The batteries go on working for decades, without need for maintenance over the many years in which a spacecraft could be travelling[8]
What do Lithium-ion space batteries look like?
As far as we know, these were only lithium-ion batteries, again, if what crashed into Otero’s house is from a pallet of batteries Jettisoned from the space station in 2021. The insides of a lithium-ion battery typically have a black or dark gray color due to the carbon-based materials used in the anode and cathode. The anode is usually made of graphite, while the cathode is made of a lithium-based compound. The separator, which prevents the anode and cathode from coming into contact, is typically white or off-white.
What do Americium space batteries look like?
On the other hand, an americium battery, which is a type of radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), is a radioactive isotope that emits alpha particles, and it is typically encapsulated in a ceramic form. The internal structure of an RTG is not easily accessible, but it typically contains a ceramic pellet of americium-241, which is surrounded by thermocouples that convert the heat generated by the alpha decay into electricity. The internal components of an RTG are not visible without damaging the device, and they are not designed to be serviced or replaced.
Years to reach earth, does that make sense?
The orbit height of the International Space Station (ISS) in January 2001 was approximately 205 miles (330 kilometers) above Earth’s surface[17]. Space debris from the ISS can orbit Earth for a significant period of time before crashing back down. Debris left in orbits below 370 miles (600 km) normally fall back to Earth within several years, while at altitudes of 500 miles (800 km), the time for orbital decay is often measured in decades. Above 620 miles (1,000 km), orbital debris normally will continue circling Earth for a century or more[15]. However, the average impact speed of orbital debris with another space object will be approximately 6 miles per second (10 km/s), which means collisions with even a small piece of debris will involve considerable energy[15].
So, that years long time does seem quite possible from the above information.
The situation unfolded when astronauts at the International Space Station decided to pitch a pallet of used lithium-ion batteries overboard in January 2021 to free up space. This pallet, weighing over 5,800 pounds, was the most massive object ever dumped from the ISS. Scheduling issues led to this decision, as a launch failure in 2018 disrupted the station’s plans, causing a buildup of old batteries. NASA determined that the batteries posed no risk upon reentry, and the European Space Agency confirmed in March 2024 that while some parts may reach the ground, the likelihood of causing harm to individuals is very low.
While incidents of space debris causing harm are rare, the recent event in Florida highlights the potential dangers associated with objects falling from space. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in this case, but it serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and risks involved in managing space debris.
Citations
[1] https://www.snexplores.org/article/space-trash-kill-satellites-space-station-astronauts
[2] https://www.space.com/space-debris-astronauts-shelter-november-2021
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/21/mind-satellite-mission-clean-up-dangerous-space-junk-astronauts-debris
[4] https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/11/15/space-junk-sends-station-astronauts-into-docked-capsules
[5] https://aerospace.org/article/space-debris-101
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/08/iss_battery_packs_reentry/
[7] https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/science-and-future/batteries-made-from-radioactive-waste-space-missions-587191.html
[8] https://thenextweb.com/news/european-scientists-developing-nuclear-waste-batteries-for-use-in-spacecraft
[9] https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Clean_Space/Testing_space_batteries_to_destruction_for_cleaner_skies
[10] https://str.llnl.gov/2022-03/jarrell
[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_battery
[11] https://www.britannica.com/technology/space-debris
[12] https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-space-junk
[13] https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/About_space_debris
[14] https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/55992/shouldnt-space-junk-fall-back-to-earth-on-its-own-how-long-will-take-for-a-1
[15] https://www.space.com/12894-space-debris-nasa-frequently-asked-questions.html
[16] https://spaceref.com/status-report/iss-naked-eye-visibility-data-9-21-jan-2001/
[17] http://claudelafleur.qc.ca/Spacecrafts-2001.html
[18] https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/weekly/5Page35.pdf
[19] https://www.space.com/16748-international-space-station.html
[20] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station