Key Points
The incident involving space debris crashing into a Florida home has sparked a debate about liability for damage caused by falling space junk..
Nasa has confirmed that the debris originated from a 2.9-ton pallet of used batteries jettisoned from the International Space Station in March 2021..
Worthy argues that under the Space Liability Convention, Nasa would be liable if the debris had caused damage in another country, and believes this policy should apply within the United States as well...
Several other reports of crashing space debris have occurred in the past year, including parts of a SpaceX Dragon trunk found in Canada and North Carolina, and a piece of an Indian Space Research Organization rocket landing on an Australian beach...
Worthy suggests that if Nasa were to fully compensate the Oteros, it would send a strong signal to both governments and private industries about responsible space operations and victim compensation...
