How come ISS space capsules for re-entry to earth don’t burn up in the atmosphere the same way comets and meteors do?

Question

How come ISS space capsules for re-entry to earth don’t burn up in the atmosphere the same way comets and meteors do?

In: 3

Answer 1

Multiple people have mentioned the ceramic heat shielding and how quickly it dissapates heat. This is actually way cooler than it sounds. Here’s a demonstration using one of the tiles from the NASA space shuttle program. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp9Yax8UNoM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp9Yax8UNoM)