system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Explain "ballistic re-entry" and why it causes 7G of force

If the recent space launch failure had to do a "ballistic re-entry" wouldn't the astronauts have been weightless as it fell?   Why were they subjected to 7G of force - and in which direction?
gpt
Space nerd here.

During normal re-entries from Low Earth Orbit (LEO), most spacecraft enter the atmosphere mainly horizontally, so they slowly encounter the thicker portions of the atmosphere, which greatly reduces the g-forces, or deceleration (1g = 1x Earth gravity acting on you, so 7g = 7x Earth gravity).

With a ballistic re-entry, one of which occurred early today after the Soyuz MS-10 failure and subsequent abort, they re-enter the atmosphere more vertically, although still with some horizontal velocity. Since they hit the thicker parts of the atmosphere quicker and more head-on, the deceleration and g-forces are more extreme.

Imagine side-scraping a wall in a car, you'll get some big scratches and dents, but it would be a lot tamer than hitting it head-on.