Are there more details about the “skip entry” descent? As I recall, Apollo used the same technique when returning from the moon. The initial plunge into the atmosphere was at an angle such that the Apollo capsule would skip off the thicker layers like a stone on a pond. This bled off some of the initial 25,000 MPH reentry speed. It would then hit the atmosphere at a steeper angle for final descrent. I’d like to hear more about how this new technique differs from the Apollo descent profile.
Another point - the heating during reentry is mostly due to compression, not friction. The atmosphere can’t get out of the way of the capsule fast enough. The compression of the air causes abdiabatic heating of several thousands of degrees.