This is the plainest-English record we can keep of notable human-made objects falling back to Earth. Each entry is sourced. Where we have written the full story, it is linked. The newest events sit at the top, and the Orbital Debris Watch covers the most interesting ones in depth.
Van Allen Probe A Uncontrolled
A NASA radiation-belt probe launched in 2012 reentered uncontrolled after its orbit decayed; most burned up, with a few hardened components able to survive.
Starship Flights 7 & 8 (upper stages) Uncontrolled
Two test flights in a row broke up after launch and rained debris, mostly heat-shield tiles, across Caribbean islands and beaches. No injuries reported.
ISS battery-pallet stanchion Fragment strike
A metal stanchion from a battery pallet jettisoned in 2021 survived reentry and punched through a house roof. NASA confirmed the origin.
ERS-2 Uncontrolled (lowered first)
A retired Earth-observation satellite whose orbit ESA deliberately lowered in 2011 to hasten a safer natural reentry 13 years later.
Long March 5B core (Mengtian) Uncontrolled
The fourth uncontrolled reentry of a 5B core stage, again drawing public criticism from NASA.
Long March 5B core (Wentian) Uncontrolled
Debris was reported over Borneo as another 5B core came down without control.
Crew Dragon trunk Uncontrolled
Charred composite pieces from a Crew Dragon trunk were found embedded in sheep-farm paddocks.
Cosmos 1408 (ASAT debris) Destroyed
A Russian anti-satellite test destroyed a defunct satellite, creating 1,500+ trackable fragments and forcing the ISS crew to shelter.
Long March 5B core (Tianhe) Uncontrolled
The second uncontrolled 5B reentry; its path was untrackable until the final hours.
Long March 5B core (first flight) Uncontrolled
The first 5B reentry dropped debris on villages in Ivory Coast, one of the largest uncontrolled reentries in decades.
Tiangong-1 Uncontrolled
China's first space station reentered uncontrolled after ground controllers lost the ability to command it.
GOCE Uncontrolled
ESA's gravity-mapping satellite reentered after running out of the fuel that had kept it in its very low orbit.
Fobos-Grunt Uncontrolled
A failed Mars probe stranded in low orbit came back down weeks after launch, full of unused propellant.
ROSAT Uncontrolled
An X-ray observatory with a heavy mirror expected to partly survive reentry; it came down weeks after UARS.
UARS Uncontrolled
A NASA atmosphere-research satellite whose reentry became a global media countdown.
Iridium 33 & Cosmos 2251 Collision
The first accidental hypervelocity collision of two intact satellites, creating 2,000+ trackable fragments still reentering today.
USA-193 Destroyed
A failed spy satellite deliberately shot down by a US Navy missile to prevent a toxic hydrazine tank from reaching the ground intact.
Mir Controlled
The largest controlled deorbit in history, steered deliberately into a remote stretch of ocean.
Star 48 rocket motor (PAM-D) Fragment strike
A spent upper-stage motor survived reentry and landed near a city, a frequently cited example of large surviving fragments.
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory Controlled
After a gyroscope failure, NASA chose to deorbit the observatory deliberately, its first intentional disposal of a craft this large.
Delta II second stage Fragment strike
A piece brushed Lottie Williams on the shoulder, making her the only documented person ever struck by space debris.
Salyut 7 / Cosmos 1686 Uncontrolled
A Soviet space station complex reentered ahead of schedule, scattering pieces over the town of Capitan Bermudez.
Skylab Uncontrolled
America's first space station scattered debris across the outback, earning NASA a $400 littering fine.
Cosmos 954 Uncontrolled (nuclear)
A reactor-powered satellite scattered radioactive debris across northern Canada, triggering the months-long Operation Morning Light cleanup.
Sputnik 4 fragment Fragment strike
A chunk of a Soviet test capsule embedded itself in a city street, the first recovered piece of human-made debris on US soil.
SW-RL-001 · Reentry Log · Significant events, curated and sourced · Updated as new reentries are confirmed