Atmospheric entry (Re-entry in-game) occurs when a spacecraft (or any other object) enters the atmosphere of a planet, such as the Earth (NaviComp:HOM). Ideally, the intention is for the safe splash down landing in a body of water or liquid.
Successful entry can only be performed with the following spacecraft:
- Atmospheric Probe
- Crew Capsule
- Crew Capsule Dockable
- Draco Cargo Capsule
- Draco Crew Capsule
- Gemini Capsule
- Soyuz Capsule
- Orion Crew Capsule
The Space Shuttle cannot be reentered into an atmosphere, because fo a faulty heat shield. A future Career Mission will probably fix the heat shield of the spaceplane and land it back on Earth.
The planets that can be entered and splashed down on are Earth, green, gold, Kate and Emma.
During re-entry, the spacecraft is experiencing turbulence, caused by extreme aerodynamic drag. If the spacecraft's body is exposed to the airflow for too long, it will overheat and then explode.
After re-entry, the parachute will be available. The parachute must be deployed between the two arrows on the altitude indicator; otherwise, the capsule will crash.
Trivia[]
- In actual atmospheric entry spacecraft, the spacecraft's mass is situated so its center of gravity is very low in the spacecraft, which assists in keeping the heat shield facing down so it will protect the spacecraft. Typically, the bottoms of space capsules are curved, which also aids in keeping the capsule oriented upright during the descent of atmospheric entry.
- In real life, the vessel is pointing at a shallow angle, around 10 degrees on the initial re-entry. This allows the craft to slow down in thinner atmosphere, thus reducing stress on the craft.