Article
Article
Atmospheric entry
Article By:
Barton, Richard L. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.
Lee, Dorothy B. Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Houston, Texas.
Gamble, Joe D. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.
Last reviewed:November 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.059300
The motion of a body traveling from space through the atmosphere surrounding a planet. Entry bodies can be natural bodies, such as meteors or comets, or vehicles, such as ballistic missiles or the space shuttle orbiter. Entry begins when the body reaches the sensible atmosphere (defined as 400,000 ft or 122 km altitude for Earth).
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