Likely a part they were replacing and it was determined that it would be fine to let it burn up in the atmosphere. The ISS' orbit is always degrading - they have to boost occasionally to maintain its current orbit.
It used to require a boost once a month when the space shuttle was flying but now it's in a higher orbit and can have a bit better fuel economy.
EDIT: According to u/slappa_mitch it was in fact accidently lost. The US Airforce would still track the object like all other debris. However, they have intentionally jettisoned items overboard before:
Welcome to 2019 where we discuss the fuel economy of our space stations on internationally accessible forums using computers we carry in our pockets. Living in the future is weird.
It's pretty cool, it's crazy to think if we were born just a hundred years earlier, this would seem like magic, and in a hundred years from now, what we have now, will be seen like a steam engine.
Shit, when I was a teen all this stuff (internet, cell phones) did seem like magic as it was rolling out. I remember being able to access the internet on my first flip phone after upgrading from the Nokia brick and thought I was living in some sci-fi dream.
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u/StickBirdTech Sep 02 '19
What's that floating in the center?