Amazing that much survived re-entry.
Space junk (likely from ISS) impacts Florida house
- Thread starter Marc_G
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Haven't you seen Armageddon??????
I'd almost forgotten about that historical document. Those poor people.
NTP2
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here are the too possible outcomes,
A get a new crater (most likely)
B get converted into gravel and then kill us anyway. (It would not have spread enough to distribute the energy)
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Yes, the only solution to an extermination event is to send Bruce Willis into space, and if he bangs his head against the asteroid hard enough, it will disintegrate into tiny bits that will then burn up in the atmosphere.
But seriously, if and I mean if, we get enough advance warning, we have already seen that diverting the object is possible. Far enough away, a 1 degree difference in trajectory is more than enough to miss us entirely.
NTP2
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This one of a few good reasons to be thankful that space is so darn big…
Sooner Boomer
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It's not stainless, it's Inconel, an alloy of nickle and chromium (with a little iron). Melting point for most alloys is around 1300C (2500F). I'm surprised *more* chunks didn't make it to earth. Why were they using this particular material on a battery pallet support?
MClark
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Worked in aerospace.
With typical warning times for dark objects we always thought we would be dead before they decided doughnuts or bagels for kickoff meeting.
Diverting an object works on paper.
There is no hardware to make it happen.
Be like a dinosaur, just watch it burn in.
More probably did make it down to Earth, but didn't happen to crash through a guy's roof.
mjennings
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The new piece in the picture posted looks like a trunnion. If the pallet was launched by the shuttle that's what held the payload in place in the bay. Everything had 4 to 5 trunnions (2 starboard, 2 port, and 1 keel (smaller/flatter didn't always have a keel trunnion))
Maude
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Isn't that particular alloy used for making things such as turbine-blades?
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Pretty sure there are many different Inconels and, yes, one application is turbine blades.
Why would it necessarily be Inconel? The article quotes "The space agency said it was a metal support used to mount old batteries on a cargo pallet for disposal. ". I would assume stainless steel if it is used only for disposal. Any other reason they would particularly use expensive Inconel?
Sooner Boomer
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https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/...ncounter-with-something-that-fell-from-space/
"On Monday, NASA confirmed the object's origin after retrieving it from Otero. The agency said in a statement that the object is made of the metal alloy Inconel, weighs 1.6 pounds, and is 4 inches in height and 1.6 inches in diameter."
Thanks 
. I wonder why they wasted the money on the expensive alloy?
. I wonder why they wasted the money on the expensive alloy?
NTP2
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You never know when someone might try and attack you’re battery support with a welding torch!!Thanks
mjennings
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Strength (static and fatigue) and non reactive nature.Thanks
The earlier article mentioned it was on the disposal pallet, so both of those don't make sense. Unless the article was wrong and it went up with the batteries on ascent.
mjennings
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Everything got up there somehow and NASA doesn't send empty stuff up for giggles. It may not have been a payload bay trunnion dimensions quoted seem small for that, but likely something similar.
MClark
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Why do I have an image in my head of Minions in space suits laughing and throwing anvils off the ISS.
Maude
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Rubbish! NASA engineers had to realise that parts of the pallet made from inconel would survive reentry.
In this case NASA should definitely be footing the bill. I wonder if home insurance covers damage from falling space-junk?
Sooner or later someone is going to be hit by a piece of reentering space-junk and be killed or injured by it, If that 19 year old man had been hit by that chunk of incomes he could've been injured quite badly or even killed outright by it.
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