Editing Atmospheric entry (section)

==Environmental impact==
[[File:ISS-46 Soyuz TMA-17M reentry.jpg|thumb|A plume in Earth's upper atmosphere left behind by a Soyuz spacecraft having reentered]]
Atmospheric entry has a measurable impact on [[Earth's atmosphere]], particularly the [[stratosphere]].

Atmospheric entry by spacecrafts accounted for 3% of all atmospheric entries by 2021, but in a scenario in which the number of satellites since 2019 are doubled, artificial entries would make 40% of all entries,<ref name="h473">{{citation | title=Burned-up satellites are polluting the atmosphere | publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | date=23 July 2024 | doi=10.1126/science.zub5l4y | page=}}</ref> which would cause atmospheric [[aerosols]] to be 94% artificial.<ref name="p330">{{cite journal | last1=Schulz | first1=Leonard | last2=Glassmeier | first2=Karl-Heinz | title=On the anthropogenic and natural injection of matter into Earth's atmosphere | journal=Advances in Space Research | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=67 | issue=3 | year=2021 | issn=0273-1177 | doi=10.1016/j.asr.2020.10.036 | doi-access=free | pages=1002–1025| arxiv=2008.13032 | bibcode=2021AdSpR..67.1002S }}</ref> The impact of spacecrafts burning up in the atmosphere during artificial atmospheric entry is different to meteors due to the spacecrafts' generally larger size and different composition. The atmospheric pollutants produced by artificial atmospheric burning-up have been traced in the atmosphere and identified as reacting and possibly negatively impacting the composition of the atmosphere and particularly the [[ozone layer]].<ref name="h473"/>

Considering [[space sustainability]] in regard to atmospheric impact of re-entry is by 2022 just developing<ref name="b448">{{cite journal | last1=Miraux | first1=Loïs | last2=Wilson | first2=Andrew Ross | last3=Dominguez Calabuig | first3=Guillermo J. | title=Environmental sustainability of future proposed space activities | journal=Acta Astronautica | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=200 | year=2022 | issn=0094-5765 | doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2022.07.034 | doi-access=free | pages=329–346| bibcode=2022AcAau.200..329M }}</ref> and has been identified in 2024 as suffering from "atmosphere-blindness", causing global [[environmental injustice]].<ref name="p583">{{cite journal | last1=Flamm | first1=Patrick | last2=Lambach | first2=Daniel | last3=Schaefer-Rolffs | first3=Urs | last4=Stolle | first4=Claudia | last5=Braun | first5=Vitali | title=Space sustainability through atmosphere pollution? De-orbiting, atmosphere-blindness and planetary environmental injustice | journal=The Anthropocene Review | publisher=SAGE Publications | date=6 June 2024 | issn=2053-0196 | doi=10.1177/20530196241255088 | doi-access=free | page=}}</ref> This is identified as a result of the current end-of life spacecraft management, which favors the [[Orbital station-keeping|station keeping]] practice of controlled re-entry.<ref name="p583"/> This is mainly done to prevent the dangers from uncontrolled atmospheric entries and [[space debris]].<ref name="p583"/>

Suggested alternatives are the use of less polluting materials and by in-orbit servicing and potentially in-space recycling.<ref name="b448"/><ref name="p583"/>