[From JSR 647] Large Uncontrolled Reentries ----------------------------- Here's a list of big things falling from orbit - excluding controlled deorbits - in order of mass (my best estimate of mass at reentry time). Name Reentry date Metric Reentry Location Type of spacecraft tons Skylab 1979 Jul 11 76 31.8S 124.4E Australia Space station Polyus 1987 May 15 70? Pacific Test satellite Saturn S-II-13 1975 Jan 11 49 34N 19W Atlantic Rocket stage DOS-6 (Salyut-7/K1686) 1991 Feb 7 40 34.9S 63.8W Argentina Space station Kosmos-1917/1918/1919 1988 Feb 17 22? Navsats/rocket stage DOS-3 (Kosmos-557) 1973 May 22 19 Indian Ocean Space station Almaz OPS-1 (Salyut-2) 1973 May 28 19 Pacific Space station Apollo BP-15/Saturn SA-7 1964 Sep 22 18 26.4S 69.0E Indian Ocean Dummy spaceship/Rocket stage 3MS 170 (Kosmos-419) 1971 May 12 18? Mars Probe/Rocket stage Kosmos-154 (L-1) 1967 Apr 19 18? Atlantic Moonship/Rocket stage Saturn SA-5 1966 Apr 30 17 Brazil Rocket stage/Nosecone Proton-4 1969 Jul 24 17 Research satellite Kosmos-305/Blok-D 1969 Oct 22 17? Australia? Moon probe/rocket stage Blok DM-2 No. 17L 1987 Feb 13 17? Rocket stage Apollo BP-13/Saturn SA-6 1964 Jun 1 17 13.6N 179E Pacific Dummy spaceship/rocket stage Proton UR-500 No. 207 1965 Sep 18 13 Rocket stage Proton UR-500 No. 209 1966 Jan 4 13 Rocket stage Proton UR-500 No. 212 1966 Aug 21 13 Rocket stage Saturn S-IVB-204 1968 Jan 23 13 Australia Rocket stage HS-601 Model/CZ-2E 1990 Oct 1 13? Dummy comms sat/stage Proton-3 (N-4 No 4) 1966 Sep 16 12 Research satellite Saturn S-IVB-502 1968 Apr 26 12 Rocket stage Lunar Module LTA-2R 1968 Sep 3 12 Pacific Dummy spaceship Saturn S-IVB-205 1968 Oct 18 12 Indian Ocean Rocket stage Blok-D 1969 Sep 27 11? Rocket stage Pegasus 1/SA-9 1978 Sep 17 10 7S 15E Angola Rocket stage/science sat Pegasus 2/SA-8 1979 Nov 3 10 Atlantic Rocket stage/science sat Pegasus 3/SA-10 1969 Aug 4 10 3.4N 56.7E Indian Ocean Rocket stage/science sat 82LB72 LVI-1 1976 Dec 23 10? Dummy spaceship 82LB72 LVI-3 1978 Mar 23 10? Dummy spaceship 82LB72 LVI-4 1979 Jun 16 10? Dummy spaceship EPN 3.695 (Kosmos-1871) 1987 Aug 10 10? Dummy spy satellite EPN 3.695 (Kosmos-1873) 1987 Sep 14 10? Dummy spy satellite Some of the above list represent rocket stages that got stranded in low orbit with all their fuel aboard. It's possible that in some cases the fuel got vented before reentry, in which case the mass would be much less. Kosmos-1917-1918-1919 is one example. A few examples, like Polyus, were propulsive deorbits done accidentally, which I count as 'uncontrolled'. Notorious reentries of smaller satellites ----------------------------------------- Mars-96 1996 Nov 17 7 Bolivia Mars probe Kosmos-954 1978 Jan 24 4? (Nuclear reactor) Canada Spy satellite Kosmos-1402 1983 Jan 23 4 (Nuclear reactor) Indian Ocean Spy satellite Solar Max 1989 Dec 2 2 Indian Ocean Astronomy sat CORONA 1014 1964 Dec 6 2 Venezuela Spy satellite USA 193 2008 Feb 21 2 (destroyed by ASAT to prevent reentry) Large controlled destructive reentries --------------------------------------- Add to this list: 134 Shuttle External Tanks, 30t each 60 Ariane EPC stages, 12 to 14t each 2 Energiya core stages, 80? t each which completed less than 1 complete orbit. Mir 2001 Mar 23 120 Pacific Space station Columbia (STS-107) 2003 Feb 1 106 Texas Spaceship Salyut-6/Kosmos-1267 1982 Jul 29 35 Pacific Space station Saturn S-IVB-501/LTA-10R 1967 Nov 9 30? W Pacific Rocket stage/dummy spaceship Salyut-5 1977 Aug 8 19 Pacific Space station Salyut-1 1971 Oct 11 19 Pacific Space station Salyut-3 1975 Jan 24 19 Pacific Space station Salyut-4 1977 Feb 2 19 Pacific Space station ATV Jules Verne 2008 Sep 29 19? Pacific Cargo ship ATV Johannes Kepler 2011 Jun 21 19? Pacific Cargo ship Kosmos-1870 (Mech-K) 1989 Jul 29 18? Pacific Radar satellite Almaz-1 (Mech-KU) 1992 Oct 17 18? Pacific Radar satellite HTV-1 2009 Nov 1 16? Pacific Cargo ship HTV-2 2011 Mar 30 16? Pacific Cargo ship Kosmos-929 (TKS) 1978 Feb 2 15 Pacific Cargo ship Kosmos-1443 1983 Sep 19 15 Pacific Cargo ship GRO 2000 Jun 4 15 Pacific Astronomy sat LACROSSE 1 1997 Mar 25 14? Pacific? Spy satellite LACROSSE 2 2011 Mar 26? 14? Pacific? Spy satellite Saturn S-IVB-206 1973 May 25 14 31N 176W Pacific Rocket stage Saturn S-IVB-207 1973 Jul 28 14 22N 177W Pacific Rocket stage Saturn S-IVB-208 1973 Nov 16 14? 26N 170W Pacific Rocket stage Saturn S-IVB-210 1975 Jul 16 14? 13N 177W Pacific Rocket stage KH11-1 1979 Jan 28 13? Pacific? Spy satellite KH11-2 1981 Aug 23 13? Pacific? Spy satellite KH11-3 1982 Oct 30 13? Pacific? Spy satellite KH11-4 1984 Nov 23 13? Pacific? Spy satellite KH11-5 1985 Aug 13 13? Pacific? Spy satellite CRYSTAL (USA 6) 1994 Oct 20 13? Pacific? Spy satellite CRYSTAL (USA 27) 1992 Jun? 13? Pacific? Spy satellite CRYSTAL (USA 33) 1996 May 13? Pacific? Spy satellite CRYSTAL (USA 86) 2000 Jun 5 13? Pacific? Spy satellite CRYSTAL (USA 116) 2008 Nov 18 13? Pacific? Spy satellite Large sats blown up before reentry ----------------------------------- Saturn S-IVB-203/AS-203 1966 Jul 15 15? Pieces found in Peru and Africa Large sats with controlled landings ------------------------------------- 133 Space Shuttle flights 1981-2011 90-110 Buran OK-1K 1988 Nov 15 79 Large stuff still in orbit --------------------------- International Space Station 410 + LACROSSE (USA 133) - 15? LACROSSE (USA 152) - 15? LACROSSE (USA 182) - 15? CRYSTAL (USA 129) - 14? CRYSTAL (USA 161) - 14? CRYSTAL (USA 186) - 14? CRYSTAL (USA 224) - 14? Hubble Space Telescope - 11