Spacecraft --- Space Shuttle --- Returning to Earth

The orbiter will hit air molecules and build up heat from friction (approximately 1650 degrees C) by reason that the orbiter moves at about 28,000 km/h.
To protect the orbiter and the astronauts from the heat, the orbiter is covered with ceramic insulating materials:
- Reinforced carbon-carbon on the wing surfaces and underside
- High-temperature black surface insulation tiles on the tiles on the upper forward fuselage and around the windows
- White Nomex blankets on the upper payload bay doors, portions of the upper wing and mid/aft fuselage
- Low-temperature white surface tiles on the remaining areas
The materials described above were designed to absorbed large quantities of heat. When returing to the Earth through the atmosphere, hot ionized gases are produced, and it will prevent radio communication with the ground for about 12 minutes (ionizaton blackout).

Soon, the orbiter will encounter the main air of the atmosphere and it will be able to fly like an airplane. The orbiter is being flown by the flight computers at this point. It will make a series of S-shaped, banking turns to slow its descent speed when begining final approach to the runway. The commander flies the shuttle around an imaginary cylinder (18,000 feet or 5,500 m in diameter) to line the orbiter up with the runway and drop the altitude.
When the orbiter is 2,000 ft (610 m) above the ground, the commander pulls up the nose to slow the rate of descent. The pilot deploys the landing gear and the orbiter touches down. The commander brakes the orbiter and the speed brake on the vertical tail opens up. A parachute is deployed from the back to help stop the orbiter.
Finally, the whole space shuttle stops.

Basic Structure and Launching Position and Orbit Communication Navigation Power Computer Returning to Earth