Deorbit burn

nounStandard termAviation

A retrograde engine firing that slows a spacecraft enough to re-enter the atmosphere.

A deorbit burn is a precisely timed retrograde maneuver that reduces a spacecraft's orbital velocity. By firing engines against the direction of travel, the vehicle lowers its orbital perigee into the dense layers of the atmosphere. This initiates atmospheric drag and the subsequent re-entry sequence leading to landing or destructive disposal.

Heard on the job

Flight Dynamics confirms a good deorbit burn, we're on trajectory for splashdown.