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When it is time for a space shuttle to return to earth it maneuvers itself into position and fires its engines to decelerate itself. Once it slows down a bit, gravity takes over and it starts to fall back to earth. As the shuttle hits the upper atmosphere it is slowed even further. The friction of the atmosphere against the bottom of the shuttle heats up the tiles causing the shuttle to glow. The shuttle goes through a series of maneuvers to slow it down even further until it reaches it final landing speed.

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