Generally when it comes time to decommission or de-orbit a satellite, the operator fires a few retro-rockets and the hardware either gets pushed into a parking orbit, or falls safely into the middle of the Pacific. Sometimes though, gravity wants its toys back early. Here are the biggest re-entries so far where operators either lost control, or never had control in the first place.
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Skylab
Image: NASA / Name: Skylab / Reentry Date: July 11, 2020 / Reentry Location: South Western Australia / Size: 79 tonnes / Type: Uncontrolled reentry
The American space station's reentry was celebrated by media in the United States, with two competing San Francisco newspapers even offering rewards for parts or damaged property.
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Salyut 7
Image: Don S. Montgomery / Name: Salyut 7 / Reentry Date: February 7, 2020 / Reentry Location: Capitán Bermúdez, Argentina / Size: 40 tonnes / Type: Large, uncontrolled re-entry
The Soviet space station had been uninhabited for almost 5 years when it returned to Earth, along with the unmanned spacecraft Kosmos 1686, showering a small Argentinian town with debris.
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Mir
Image: NASA Crew of STS-79 / Name: Mir / Reentry Date: March 23, 2020 / Reentry Location: South Pacific Ocean / Size: 120 tonnes / Type: Large, controlled destructive reentry
Mir, despite efforts to save the 15-year-old Russian space station for commercial purposes, reentered the atmosphere over Fiji, and fragments fell into the South Pacific.
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Saturn S-II-13
Image: NASA / Name: Saturn S-II-13 (Saturn V Stage) / Reentry Date: January 11, 2020 / Reentry Location: Atlantic / Size: 49 tonnes / Type: Uncontrolled reentry
The S-II was the second stage used on the massive Saturn V rocket, famous for launching Apollo to the moon. The S-II was used for the 13 launches of the Saturn V - this 49 tonne stage reentered on January 11, 2020.
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Cosmos 1402
Image: MSGT Hiyashi / Name: Cosmos 1402 (nuclear spy satellite) / Reentry Date: January 23, 2020 / Reentry Location: Indian Ocean / Size: 4 tonnes / Type: Uncontrolled reentry
Satellite nuclear reactors were normally jettisoned to a safe "parking orbit" when the satellites reentered, but Cosmos 1402's reactor remained attached. Here, an American orbital analyst monitors the satellite's trajectory from NORAD.
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Mars 96
Image: DLR Institute of Planetary Exploration / Name: Mars 96 / Reentry Date: November 17, 2020 / Reentry Location: Bolivia, Chile / Size: 7 tonnes / Type: Uncontrolled reentry
Mars 96 was a Russian satellite meant to send four probes to Mars, but failed and returned to Earth crashing into an unknown location in Bolivia, Chile, or the Pacific. No parts of the spacecraft, including its 200 grams of plutonium-238 fuel, have been found.
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Space Shuttle Columbia
Image: NASA / Name: Columbia (STS-107) / Reentry Date: February 1, 2020 / Reentry Location: Texas, Louisiana / Size: 106 tonnes / Type: Destructive reentry
During the reentry of STS-107, damage to the shuttle's left wing shielding during launch allowed hot gases to enter the shuttle, leading to the disintegration of the vehicle. All seven crew members were killed, and debris was scattered over northern Texas and eastern Louisiana.
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