3 ms·

Not a given. Re enter the atmosphere. Sure. Avoid vaporization? Much harder problem.

• debatem1 8mo ago
  There is some evidence to suggest that spacex knows how to reenter an object without burning it up.
  • duskwuff 8mo ago
    Sometimes without even meaning to: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/spacex-cbc-debris-space-junk-sask-1.7231571 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/spacex-cbc-debris-s...
  • TheOtherHobbes 8mo ago
    The engineering overlap between between a small object designed for reentry and a flying (crashing...) warehouse is not a circle. Once upon a time there was a bonkers "rods from god" mass bomb idea, but that didn't work either.
• reppap 8mo ago
  I think it's actually the other way around, satellites need to be specifically designed to burn up fast in the atmosphere. See for example the warnings about space debris from Chinese satellites not designed with this in mind.
• idontwantthis 8mo ago
  100 tons of steel will not vaporize before it hits the ground