Machin bird, yes the RH pic does look like a bolide of which I too have seen many and that looks nothing like the rentry of a spacecraft.
The largest spacecraft I have seen renter live is the Hayabusa probe 8 years ago. Admittedly smaller than the space station at hand but it certainly didn’t look like the explosion on the LH pic. I agree you’re talking huge speeds for the craft and that the laminar flame (propagation) speed is higher at altitude, but why is the flammable material ahead of the body? From what I have seen, the burning /vapourising substance usually trails behind the object, and doesn’t have that yellow hydrocarbon colour.
What is the source of the images?
Edit - just seen the above post that went up when I was typing this one. That would seem to answer that then.
Last edited by compressor stall; 2nd Apr 2018 at 16:29.
Reason: Comment about post above.