I am playing a 10% science playthrough with the Outer Planets mod, and I am trying to visit the new planets. I am playing on a Luna Multiplayer server, so I can't use quicksaves, which means each attempt takes 1 to 2 hours.

This is how my most recent attempts at the mission has gone:

Visit Urlum.

Fly-by Urlum and all of its moons, get all science from low and high space.

Return trajectory to Kerbin.

Fly by Jool to gravity assist and slow down my orbit.

Enter Kerbin system at a speed of 6000m/s, with Kerbin periapsis of 45km to 65km.

Start burning my remaining fuel retrograde approx. 3 minutes before entering the atmosphere.

Immediately explode 5km deep into the atmosphere despite the Pea re-entry module supposedly being heat resistant.

All my other attempts have run into similar issues. Just barely dipping my pinky toe in some sort of atmosphere (jool, duna, kerbin, etc.) after returning from Urlum causes immediate explosion of every part of the craft. And I mean IMMEDIATELY explode, 5km in, always.…