1, the world's first space station, was deliberately de-orbited into the Pacific Ocean in 1971 following the Soyuz 11 accident. Its successor, Salyut 6, was de-orbited in a controlled manner as well. On June 4, 2000 the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was deliberately de-orbited after one of its gyroscopes failed. The debris that did not burn up fell harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean. The observatory was still operational, but the failure of another gyroscope would have made de-orbiting much more difficult and dangerous. With some controversy, NASA decided in the interest of public safety that a controlled crash was preferable to letting the craft come down at random. In 2001, the Russian Mir space station was deliberately de-orbited, and broke apart in the fashion expected by the command center during atmospheric reentry. Mir entered the Earth's atmosphere on March 23, 2001, near Nadi, Fiji, and fell into the South Pacific Ocean. On February 21, 2008, a disabled U.S. spy satellite, USA-193, was hit at an altitude of approximately with an SM-3 missile fired from the U.S. Navy cruiser off the coast of Hawaii. The satellite was inoperative, having failed to reach its intended orbit when it was launched in 2006. Due to its rapidly deteriorating orbit it was destined for uncontrolled reentry within a month. U.S. Department of Defense expressed concern that the fuel tank containing highly toxic hydrazine might survive reentry to reach the Earth's surface intact. Several governments including those of Russia, China, and Belarus protested the action as a thinly-veiled demonstration of US anti-satellite capabilities. China had previously caused an international incident when it tested an anti-satellite missile in 2007. Successful atmospheric entries from orbital velocitiesCrewed orbital reentry, by country/governmental entity – Shenzhou / – Vostok, Voskhod, Soyuz – Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Space ShuttleCrewed orbital reentry, by commercial entity SpaceX – Dragon 2Uncrewed orbital reentry, by country/governmental entity European Space Agency / Indian Space Research Organisation / Uncrewed orbital reentry, by commercial entity''' SpaceX – Dragon Boeing - Starliner Selected atmospheric entries This list includes some notable atmospheric entries in which the spacecraft was not intended to be recovered, but was destroyed in the atmosphere. Gallery See also References Further reading A revised version of this classic text has been reissued as an inexpensive paperback: reissued in 2004 External links Aerocapture Mission Analysis Tool (AMAT) provides preliminary mission analysis and simulation capability for atmospheric entry vehicles at