History Main / RocketlessReentry

*** As a bonus MythologyGag, the three episodes mentioned above all have [[NamesTheSame the same title]].

[[quoteright:309:[[Videogame/Section8 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/section-8-moon-drop.jpg]]]]

* Mike Baron's run of ''ComicBook/Deadman'' stories begins with Boston brooding on a satellite way above the Earthand leaping off of it, diving through the atmosphere, and landing into an airplane on a drug-run. Obviously, Deadman doesn't have to worry about the safety of this maneuver.

* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': In the "Titan" arc, the Titan prison colony for corrupt ex-Judges is apparently taken over by the inmates after Mega City One loses contact. Judge Dredd and a strike team go there to investigate, landing on the moon in a free fall with only their armored space suits to protect them. Dredd almost burns up during reentry because he nearly fainted.

* In the final episode of ''Series/ComeBackMrsNoah'', ThePlan is to lower the orbit of the runaway SpaceStation into the atmosphere so the crew can jump out wearing a [[HelicopterPack heli-glidette]]. This leads to Mrs. Noah training how to use the device by jumping up and down on a trampoline in a wind tunnel, while wearing a [[SpaceClothes silly silver costume]] and pulling the starter cord between her legs to start the engine. On live television.

--->'''Gan:''' Do you know exactly what we're looking for? Because I don't think I've ever seen an impact life capsule.\\

* In Creator/AllenSteele's ''Literature/OrbitalDecay'', it's mentioned early on that the space station has some personal heat shiilds, although even the manufacturer admits that it's more likely to kill you than save you. At the end, a near-suicidal Popeye takes one and bails out.

* ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1942}}'': Paula invents a type of coating/exoskeleton type thing that allows Wonder Woman and the Holliday Girls to drop though an atmosphere from space without burning or being harmed.

'''Jorge:''' That was the good news.

* In older versions of ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'', before reentry heating was implemented, it was possible for a kerbal without a spacecraft to survive reentry (but [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou the impact was usually fatal]]). There are also mods that give escape pods similar to the ones described in the RealLife section.

* VideoGame/{{Section 8}}'' is a FPS which utilizes this constantly -- your character will 'burn in' instead of respawning, which means they get shot out fast enough to hit the ground ''in ten seconds'' from a dropship at 15000 feet, allowing you to drop anywhere on the game map. Naturally, there is the possibility of enemy interference while burning in (from AA guns). There are also no parachutes, though you may brake and slow your descent anyway. If you don't, you won't have control over your PlayerCharacter, so they'll just go straight downward from the chosen burn-in point until they hit the ground, and take an extra second to ready themselves from hitting the ground at 500 feet a second by hitting the ground on impact with both hands and getting up. They wear particularly cool PoweredArmor, if you were wondering how one could survive that.

[[quoteright:350:[[WebComic/AMiracleOfScience https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miracle_of_science_reentry_without_spacecraft_7.png]]]][[caption-width-right:350:[[DeadpanSnarker Oh, the old 'Wings-of-fire' trick, seen it a thousand times.]]]]

* In the ''Series/StarTrek'' parody ''Stone Trek'', the transporter is [[StonePunk simply a hole]] that opens in the transporter pad, [[RuleOfFunny dropping the away team onto the planet surface]].

** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'': An enemy pilot deliberately tries to keep the Barbatos from returning to the shuttle in the hopes of destroying it; Mikazuki responds by killing the pilot, then ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome surfing his mobile suit into the atmosphere as an improvised heat shield]]''.

* The original cut of ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' started out with a retired Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov space diving just because they're bored.
* In the ''Film/StarTrek'' reboot film Kirk and Sulu drop from orbit onto the ''Narada'''s drill to disable it, but fail to stop Vulcan's destruction.

Compare ReentryScare and contrast FrictionlessReentry.

* In Creator/AllenSteele's ''Literature/OrbitalDecay'', it's mentioned early on that the space station has some personal heat sheilds, although even the manufacturer admits that it's more likely to kill you than save you. At the end, a near-suicidal Popeye takes one and bails out.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor "The Name of the Doctor"]] the Doctor and Clara get to the planet Trenzalore by orbiting it, then turning off the TARDIS engines and letting gravity take its course.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Extreme Risk", B'Elanna Torres is shown doing orbital skydiving from 300 kilometers in a thermal suit covered in tiny tiles like a walking space shuttle, before the ProsceniumReveal showing she's actually in a holodeck simulation.