On July 11, 1979, a massive object—weighing 77 tonnes—disintegrated in the night sky over southwestern Australia. The event, though dramatic, was not the only unusual thing about it. A few days later, the small town of Esperance sent a $400 bill to NASA, citing "littering on public property." While the situation sounds absurd, it's true and became a quirky footnote in space history. The object was Skylab, the first American orbital laboratory, launched in 1973. NASA had hoped to keep it in orbit until 1983, when the space shuttle program would be ready to retrieve or safely deorbit it. However, delays in the shuttle program, unexpected atmospheric drag, and increased solar activity caused Skylab to fall faster than expected. NASA engineers attempted to control the descent, even cutting off the station's attitude control systems to avoid populated areas in North America. They predicted the debris would land safely in the Indian Ocean. But their calculations were wrong. Instead, large pieces of Skylab crashed into the Australian outback, waking residents of Esperance and Balladonia with loud sonic booms. The next morning, they found charred debris scattered across their properties and roads. The event quickly turned into a global story, especially after the San Francisco Examiner offered a $10,000 reward for the first Skylab fragment brought to its office. A 17-year-old from Esperance, Stan Thornton, found pieces on his land, flew to San Francisco, and collected the prize. His trip was even partially funded by a local airline and supported by U.S. authorities. Meanwhile, the people of Esperance took a humorous approach. When NASA officials arrived to deal with the debris, the city council handed them a $400 bill for "littering," citing local regulations. The fine was clearly a joke, as no one expected a small Australian town to hold NASA accountable for a spacecraft reentry. NASA ignored the bill, and the matter seemed to fade into obscurity. However, Esperance kept the story alive, turning it into local folklore. Thirty years later, as the anniversary of the crash approached, the city installed signs reminding people of the unpaid fine. A radio host in California, Scott Barley, learned about the debt and challenged his listeners to raise the money. The effort succeeded, and in 2009, NASA paid the $400 in full. The story is now preserved in the small municipal museum of Esperance, with a display case containing pieces of Skylab debris and a check from NASA. A banner outside the museum reads: "In 1979, a spacecraft crashed into Esperance, and the city imposed a $400 fine for littering—fully paid." The incident highlights a broader issue: the risk of uncontrolled reentries of large objects from space. While Skylab was the first major example, today, rocket stages and orbital debris continue to fall unpredictably, posing similar challenges. The Esperance story, though lighthearted, reminds us of the ongoing need for better space debris management.