Corrected entry: The shuttle makes a far from a smooth landing on the asteroid. It is dinged up quite a bit and even more so while they are there. Columbia burned up because a single piece of ice hit its wing causing the heat shield to malfunction. There is no way this shuttle could have re-entered the earth's atmosphere safely.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Correction: These new shuttles (X-71s) are explained as being made of titanium and of being "impenetrable". I suppose that within the absurdity of this movie, a shuttle with an impenetrable skin could perform as shown.