Fresh water Splash down in the Great Lakes?

[Robotbeat]

Where does the servicemodule end up?

Vaporised? Apollo 13 Service Module (SM) and Lunar Module (LM) as they entered Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on April 18, 1970 between the Fiji Islands and Auckland, New Zealand

That doesn't answer my question. Where would Starliner's service module end up (vaporized or otherwise) if it were landing in the desert?

[M_Puckett]

Where does the servicemodule end up?

Vaporised? Apollo 13 Service Module (SM) and Lunar Module (LM) as they entered Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on April 18, 1970 between the Fiji Islands and Auckland, New Zealand

Fun fact for today: The RTG from the LM is sitting at the bottom of the Tonga Trench.  Thankfully, not leaking.

[M_Puckett]

I know a big freshwater lake in a remote area that would work, Lake Baikal!!!

(Ducks and runs away)

[obi-wan]

Lake Okeechobee in southern Florida - 30 miles across (largest fresh-water lake in the US that's not one of the Great Lakes) and the trunk should land (in pieces) in the Gulf. Just have to figure out how to keep the fishing boats out on landing days...

[ELinder]

If you've ever been there, you'd know that wouldn't work. Average depth is only about 10 feet, lots of gators, lots of mud, etc.

[OneSpeed]

That doesn't answer my question. Where would Starliner's service module end up (vaporized or otherwise) if it were landing in the desert?

I'm not sure of the exact inclination of the re-entry trajectory, but if the Apollo 13 RTG is in the Tonga Trench, then it landed about 1,000kms short of the command module Odyssey. If the fins on the Dragon2 trunk are sufficient to keep it prograde before it vaporises and / or disintegrates, the distance on a lunar return could be even greater, my sim estimates as much as 2,000 kms. If the trunk tumbles, the landing ellipse could be enormous.

[Jim]

Fins will have no effect since the service module is uncontrolled

[OneSpeed]

Fins will have no effect since the service module is uncontrolled

It would also depend on the position and mass of any objects in the Dragon2 trunk. The combination of sufficient mass forward in the trunk with the control afforded by the fins could potentially make the trunk inherently stable (at least until destroyed by extreme heat).