What to Do If Space Debris Lands on Your Home
What should you do if some stray space junk lands in your yard or crushes your two-car garage? And who is legally responsible for damage to your property or person?
This is an astronomically unlikely event, but it has happened at least once. In March, debris from the International Space Station crashed through the roof of a Naples, Florida, home, narrowly missing the homeowner’s 19-year-old son, Alejandro Otero.
“We weren’t sure if there was an earthquake or something,” Otero said. “When [my son] saw the hole in the house, he knew something had failed.” After some investigation, experts determined that the mysterious soda can-sized object was a battery tray from the International Space Station.
Who is responsible for falling space debris?
The aftermath of the incident raises several interesting questions, the most pressing of which is: how dangerous is it? Determining this should be the first thing you do in the surprisingly unlikely event that some space debris ends up in your home. The Oteros followed sound space debris protocol and contacted their local sheriff after the incident. Ultimately, NASA determined that this piece of space junk is not toxic or radioactive, but who knows, so be extremely careful. Don’t touch it with your lips.
The second question is more complex: Who is responsible for the approximately $15,000 in damage to Otero’s property, as well as any emotional and mental suffering the Otero suffered as a result of the incident?
The first payee will likely be their insurance company, so if this happens to you, give them a call. Homeowners insurance policies typically cover property damage from anything that falls from space, man-made or natural. Liability for damages greater than what your insurance will cover, as well as for non-pecuniary claims such as emotional distress, has a more complicated answer—you’ll need to hire an attorney to sort it out.
According to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the 1972 Liability Convention , the government of the country where the launch took place is responsible for financial compensation for any damage caused by space debris resulting from that launch, regardless of any other country it could land even if the satellite was launched by a private company.
If the debris had landed in another country, liability would have been clear under UN rules, but it was NASA debris landing domestically, so international law no longer applied, according to space law expert Mark Sundahl .
“This becomes an internal legal issue,” Sundahl told NPR. “The homeowner would have to file a tort claim against the federal government.”
The Oteros have filed a lawsuit with NASA, according to the family’s lawyer. A space agency spokesperson said NASA will not comment on the pending lawsuit, so stay tuned as this unique case works its way through the legal system.
Who owns the space junk that lands on your property?
You’d think the Oteros would have to keep the space junk that fell into their house – what a conversation, right? – but the “seekers’ keepers” rule does not apply here. The wreckage belongs to NASA, and it has already collected it.
If a meteorite or asteroid hits your home, it’s a completely different story. In this case, the law in the US is clear: you own it in every way. You (well, you and your insurance company) are responsible for any damage, and you get to keep your space rock. Just be careful the meteor isn’t full of invasive alien plants, so you don’t end up like Stephen King in The Horror Show .
Who will be responsible for damages if a flying saucer crashes into your home?
If a flying saucer or other interstellar alien spacecraft crashes into your roof, you will likely have a valid claim with your insurance company. The policies cover damage from the fall of a “spaceship,” which presumably includes flying saucers.
However, it is unlikely that you will be able to get anything beyond the homeowner’s insurance coverage you have; Suing Glipzorp of Romulus V would probably be impossible: “As far as I know, only people, and those specifically granted personality status by state legislatures or other laws, can be parties to a lawsuit,” the lawyer said from Chicago Wesley Johnson. Tell me. (Full disclosure: Wesley is my brother; I don’t feel comfortable bringing this issue to an attorney with whom I am not affiliated.)
“Space aliens would probably be immune from condemnation anyway because they don’t have money, at least not money that can be exchanged for US money,” Johnson added, demonstrating impressive patience.