The object was taken by NASA to be examined, and the space agency has now confirmed it was indeed the remains of a 5,800-pound cargo pallet of depleted nickel hydride batteries that was jettisoned from the ISS in March 2021.
"The hardware was expected to fully burn up during entry through Earth's atmosphere on March 8, 2024," NASA said in a statement. "However, a piece of hardware survived re-entry and impacted a home in Naples, Florida."
The 1.6-pound piece of debris, measuring about 4 inches long, was identified as "a stanchion from the NASA flight support equipment used to mount the batteries on the cargo pallet," NASA said.
NASA said the ISS will conduct an investigation to "determine the cause of the debris survival and to update modeling and analysis, as needed."
