Corrected entry: As the Enterprise plummets to Earth, Sulu comments that unless the shields come back online, the Enterprise will burn up upon re-entry into the atmosphere. Yet by the time power is restored and shields are back up, the Enterprise is well within the Earth's atmosphere, as indicated by all the clouds above and below the ship. So how did the Enterprise survive re-entry without shields?
rswarrior
29th Sep 2013
Correction: Because even though the Enterprise had entered the atmosphere, it doesn't burn up immediately, it takes time. Even so, you can see damage occurring to the Enterprise during re-entry, it wasn't unscathed.
rswarrior