This a thing that, instinctively, I find it hard to grasp. The capsules are designed with a centre of gravity slightly to the direction of the thermal shield, this assures the right attitude, but how can it remain stable, at such velocities and plasma flow, I find it hard to believe, but it is so!
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$\begingroup$ What sort of instabilities do you foresee? $\endgroup$– SF.Commented Feb 17, 2021 at 13:04
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1$\begingroup$ Turbulent flow is chaotic by definition $\endgroup$– GianniCommented Feb 17, 2021 at 16:21
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Reentry vehicles have a turbulent wake, and a transition region exists at some point along the body.
The paper Laminar-Turbulent Transition on Reentry Capsules and Planetary Probes has a good overview.
Shuttle images from The HYTHIRM Project: Flight Thermography of the Space Shuttle During Hypersonic Re-entry
answered Feb 17, 2021 at 16:49