[AntiKev]

That’s a damn lie. It’s better to leave it intact and let it burn up. Atmospheric heating during reentry is all about mass/surface area ratio. The frictional heating will be much higher on the intact satellite than on the individual pieces. They’re creating more a hazard to people on the ground and in LEO by doing this.

[Yo-Yo]

That’s a damn lie. It’s better to leave it intact and let it burn up. Atmospheric heating during reentry is all about mass/surface area ratio. The frictional heating will be much higher on the intact satellite than on the individual pieces. They’re creating more a hazard to people on the ground and in LEO by doing this.

You're right that it's all about mass/surface area ratio, but you're wrong that it's better off left intact. Which burns better, a log or a bunch of wadded up newspaper made from the same mass of wood?

Leaving the satellite intact will shield the innermost "guts" of the satellite, with the possibility of some secret stuff possibly surviving intact to be discovered by wandering eyes.

Break it up, and it will mostly burn up or at least become unrecognizable chunks on the ground.

[plsvn]

It’s better to leave it intact and let it burn up. Atmospheric heating during reentry is all about mass/surface area ratio. The frictional heating will be much higher on the intact satellite than on the individual pieces. They’re creating more a hazard to people on the ground and in LEO by doing this.

I'd rather take my chances on more smaller pieces allowed to decay than a single piece, perhaps protecting components deep inside the spacecraft, making it through the atmosphere essentially still intact. And I wouldn't worry about operational satellites in LEO, this is taking place well below them.