Editing Atmospheric entry (section)

===Deorbit disposal===
[[Salyut 1]], the world's first space station, was deliberately de-orbited into the Pacific Ocean in 1971 following the [[Soyuz 11]] accident. Its successor, [[Salyut 6]], was de-orbited in a controlled manner as well.

On June 4, 2000, the [[Compton Gamma Ray Observatory]] was deliberately de-orbited after one of its gyroscopes failed. The debris that did not burn up fell harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean. The observatory was still operational, but the failure of another gyroscope would have made de-orbiting much more difficult and dangerous. With some controversy, NASA decided in the interest of public safety that a controlled crash was preferable to letting the craft come down at random.

In 2001, the Russian ''[[Mir]]'' space station was deliberately de-orbited, and broke apart in the fashion expected by the command center during atmospheric reentry. Mir entered the Earth's atmosphere on March 23, 2001, near [[Nadi]], [[Fiji]], and fell into the South Pacific Ocean.

On February 21, 2008, a disabled U.S. [[spy satellite]], [[USA-193]], was hit at an altitude of approximately {{convert|246|km|sp=us}} with an [[SM-3]] missile fired from the U.S. Navy [[cruiser]] {{USS|Lake Erie|CG-70|2}} off the coast of [[Hawaii]]. The satellite was inoperative, having failed to reach its intended orbit when it was launched in 2006. Due to its rapidly deteriorating orbit it was destined for uncontrolled reentry within a month. [[U.S. Department of Defense]] expressed concern that the {{convert|1000|lb|adj=on}} fuel tank containing highly toxic [[hydrazine]] might survive reentry to reach the Earth's surface intact. Several governments including those of Russia, China, and [[Belarus]] protested the action as a thinly-veiled demonstration of US anti-satellite capabilities.<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Gray |title= U.S. has high confidence it hit satellite fuel tank |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1930844420080222 |work=Reuters |date=2008-02-21 |access-date=2008-02-23| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080225204300/https://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1930844420080222| archive-date= 25 February 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> China had previously caused an international incident when it [[2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test|tested an anti-satellite missile]] in 2007.

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File:Closeup of Gemini 2 heatshield.jpg|Closeup of [[Gemini 2]] heat shield
File:Cross section of Gemini 2 heatshield.jpg|Cross section of Gemini 2 heat shield
</gallery>