How come ISS space capsules for re-entry to earth don’t burn up in the atmosphere the same way comets and meteors do?
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Basically, because we put a lot of care and effort into ensuring this is the case.
We make sure not to hit the atmosphere head-on, instead using a very shallow angle that takes us through the thinner top layers of the atmosphere for as long as possible to gradually slow down before dropping down into the denser atmosphere.
We also fit them with parachutes to help us slow down further, and a heat shield designed specifically to protect against the heat (it is of course made of heat-resistent materials, but it’s also shaped to create a sort of air bubble in front of it which absorbs most of the heat)
If either of those factors go wrong (wrong reentry angle, or if the parachutes or heatshield get damaged or fail), then the whole thing may well burn up too.
For spacecraft coming from the ISS specifically, reentry speed is also quite a lot lower than for something coming from the moon or from outer space. That helps too 🙂
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