page_title: Atmospheric entry
section_title: Notable atmospheric entry accidents
hierarchical_section_title: Atmospheric entry / Notable atmospheric entry accidents
caption_attribution_description: English: Genesis on the Ground — The impact of the Genesis sample return capsule occurred near Granite Peak on a remote portion of the Utah Test and Training Range. Català: Vehicle de reentrada Genesis estavellat
context_page_description: Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: uncontrolled entry, such as the entry of astronomical objects, space debris, or bolides; and controlled entry of a spacecraft capable of being navigated or following a predetermined course. Technologies and procedures allowing the controlled atmospheric entry, descent, and landing of spacecraft are collectively termed as EDL.
  Objects entering an atmosphere experience atmospheric drag, which puts mechanical stress on the object, and aerodynamic heating—caused mostly by compression of the air in front of the object, but also by drag. These forces can cause loss of mass or even complete disintegration of smaller objects, and objects with lower compressive strength can explode.
  Crewed space vehicles must be slowed to subsonic speeds before parachutes or air brakes may be deployed. Such vehicles have kinetic energies typically between 50 and 1,800 megajoules, and atmospheric dissipation is the only way of expending the kinetic energy.
context_section_description: Not all atmospheric reentries have been successful and some have resulted in significant disasters.
  Voskhod 2 – The service module failed to detach for some time, but the crew survived.
  Soyuz 1 – The attitude control system failed while still in orbit and later parachutes got entangled during the emergency landing sequence (entry, descent, and landing (EDL) failure). Lone cosmonaut Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov died.
  Soyuz 5 – The service module failed to detach, but the crew survived.
  Soyuz 11 – After tri-module separation, a valve was weakened by the blast and failed on reentry. The cabin depressurized killing all three crew members.
  Mars Polar Lander – Failed during EDL. The failure was believed to be the consequence of a software error. The precise cause is unknown for lack of real-time telemetry.
  Space Shuttle Columbia
  STS-1 – a combination of launch damage, protruding gap filler, and tile installation error resulted in serious damage to the orbiter, only some of which the crew was privy to. Had the crew known the true extent of the damage before attempting reentry, they would have flown the shuttle to a safe altitude and then bailed out. Nevertheless, reentry was successful, and the orbiter proceeded to a normal landing.
  STS-107 – The failure of an RCC panel on a wing leading edge caused by debris impact at launch led to breakup of the orbiter on reentry resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members.
  Genesis – The parachute failed to deploy due to a G-switch having been installed backwards (a similar error delayed parachute deployment for the Galileo Probe). Consequently, the Genesis entry vehicle crashed into the desert floor. The payload was damaged, but most scientific data were recoverable.
  Soyuz TMA-11 – The Soyuz propulsion module failed to separate properly; fallback ballistic reentry was executed that subjected the crew to accelerations of about 8 standard gravities (78 m/s²). The crew survived.
caption: Genesis entry vehicle after crash
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