That makes sense.
Don’t shuttles travel at something like 15,000-24,000 mph in space? That’s coming-in pretty “hot”... don’t they turn ‘em around and do a burn to slow down?
17,450 mph for an orbital altitude of 200 miles, assuming a circular track. There is a “retro” burn to slow the velocity to just below orbital speed so the spacecraft starts to contract the air, but most of the braking is from air friction.