Atmospheric Reentry

Coming home is the hardest part. A spacecraft must shed 7.8 km/s as heat without burning up or crushing its crew — a knife-edge of entry angle.

Atmospheric ReentryLive

the fire of coming home

Controls

Presets

Entry angle (°)

Ballistic coefficient (kg/m²)

A returning spacecraft sheds nearly all its 7.8 km/s orbital speed as heat in the upper atmosphere. Too shallow an angle and it skips back into space; too steep and the deceleration g-load and heating spike to lethal levels. The ballistic coefficient sets how deep it plunges before the thickening air finally slows it.

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Data Inspector

Peak deceleration0.0 g

Entry angle5°

Survivable?yes

Governing equation

\overset{v}{˙} = - \frac{ρ v ^{2}}{2 β}, β = 400 kg/ m^{2}, g_{m a x} = 0.0

Reading this result: A moderate entry angle keeps peak deceleration within a survivable range while shedding orbital speed as heat.

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How it works

During reentry, atmospheric drag converts orbital kinetic energy into intense heat and deceleration. Too shallow an entry angle and the vehicle skips off the atmosphere back into space; too steep and the g-load and heating spike to destructive levels. The ballistic coefficient controls how deep the craft plunges before the thickening air arrests it.

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Frequently asked questions

Is this atmospheric reentry simulator tool really free?▾

Yes. Atmospheric Reentry runs entirely in your browser using your device's own compute, so local use is free forever. You only pay Compute Tokens if you scale a job to the cloud.

Do I need to install anything?▾

No. Everything runs client-side in a modern browser — no downloads, no license, no account required to start.

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How accurate are the results?▾

The solver uses established numerical methods, but results are for research and educational purposes and should be validated against experiment or professional review before you rely on them.