rootofallworlds t1_itz5q06 wrote
To add to the other answer, terminal velocity itself depends on altitude and projectile orientation. As altitude increases, air density decreases and terminal velocity increases, towards an extremely high value in outer space much faster than any natural object. Therefore any object that has come from outer space must "enter Earth's atmosphere", something that is itself not sharply defined, faster than its terminal velocity.
Most objects hitting planetary atmospheres are not travelling straight down either. The Earth Impact Effects Program states the most common angle for meteor impacts as 45 degrees. Orbital spacecraft making a re-entry, either controlled or uncontrolled, typically enter at much shallower angles. On the other hand sounding rockets follow a trajectory that's appoximately straight up and down.
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