system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: how is a satellite/space shuttle safely decommissioned?

When a satellite or space station is decommissioned, and is burnt up in the atmosphere, how do they move the satellite into the atmosphere, and how is the descent controlled so it does not cause damage on the Earth's surface (by falling over populated areas for instance)?
gpt
The best way for you to understand this would be to play Kerbal Space Program.  You learn so much about things like delta V, retrograde burns, transfer orbits, ect.  

But to try to explain in the simplest terms just to answer the question lets say you want to land in the pacific ocean.  You know the craft is orbiting the planet at say 27k mph in a certain direction.   you then basically just face the ship the opposite direction and apply thrust so the craft slows down.  As the craft slows down it falls to earth because of...well...gravity.  They basically do some complex math to know when, where, what direction,  and how long to apply thrust so that craft lands where they want it.