What happens when a satellite falls?
Nothing in low orbit stays there forever. Traces of atmosphere slow every satellite; the orbit spirals down until the object hits dense air at ~28,000 km/h and — usually — burns up as a spectacular artificial meteor. On average, one tracked object re-enters every day.
The fall is slow, the end is fast
From 400 km, an uncontrolled satellite takes years to decay; from 200 km, days. The final plunge lasts minutes: compression of the air ahead of the object (not friction, mostly) heats it beyond 1,600 °C, tearing it into a train of glowing fragments visible across hundreds of kilometres.
Does anything reach the ground?
Typically 10–40% of a satellite's mass survives — dense parts like titanium tanks and reaction wheels. The risk to people is tiny (oceans cover 71% of Earth), and modern satellites like Starlink are designed for full demise. Large stages are steered into the 'spacecraft cemetery' in the remote South Pacific.
Cosmik tracks decaying objects and can alert you before a re-entry you might see — the 🔥 Reentry alert category.