atmospheric reentry
Spacecraft coming home
Atmospheric reentry is the return of a spacecraft, satellite, or other object from outer space into Earth's atmosphere.
The process generates extreme heat from friction as the object decelerates from orbital velocities, requiring specialized heat shields on crewed vehicles.
Objects without protection typically burn up during reentry.
The capsule's heat shield glowed orange during atmospheric reentry.
The term applies to entry into any planetary atmosphere, though Earth reentry dominates usage.
- ablative materialsSubstances that erode protectively
- heat shieldBarrier against extreme temperatures
- shock wavePropagating pressure disturbance
- drag coefficientMeasure of aerodynamic resistance
- g forcesAcceleration-induced bodily stress
orbital decay · angle of attack · ablation · Mach number · blackout · ballistic trajectory · burning up · falling star · kinetic energy · recovery operations · space shuttle · Columbia disaster · NASA · Soyuz · capsule · thermal conduction · terminal velocity · parachute deployment
- aerospaceairplane, helicopter, rocket, rockets, spacecraft
- spaceflight hazardsmicrogravity, weightlessness, zero gravity, space debris, cosmic rays
- space hazardsasteroids, comets, meteors, meteorites, solar flares
atmospheric, reentry, atmosphere, atmospheres, atmospherics, atmospherically, entry, entries, enters