Ive left messages and emails without a response, Oterowroteon X.
Who you gonna call?
The chances of getting hit by space junk are slim, but theyre not zero.
The battery pallet as it was released from the ISS in 2021.Photo: NASA
However, there are no clear guidelines to follow should space junk end up on your property.
Who do you call, right?
Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the HarvardSmithsonian Center, who tracks atmospheric reentries, told Gizmodo.
The Aerospace Corporation investigates reentry debris and, according to McDowell, know what theyre doing.
Therefore, that would be a good place to start.
NASA does have its own office that focuses on mitigating the risk of debris.
So once you make that call, be ready to give up the goods.
Who pays for damages?
Its not immediately clear who should be responsible for the potential damage resulting from the space debris.
That might just be a sign of the times, though.
As space activity increases, you worry that youre going to see more of this, McDowell said.
As the space industry continues to grow, so too does the number of objects in the sky.
Otero and his son came frighteningly close to turning this prediction into reality.
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