A big difference is that they are going to be "landing" the orbiter in sunlight. Hopefully they'll be able to get the heat shield protection nailed down this time.

Watching a 50 story tall, stainless-steel gleaming building fly away and then half of it come back down with sonic booms and flame and clouds of smoke is fascinating. Seeing a hypersonic stainless steel tube half the length of a football field plunge through the atmosphere in multicolored plasma is quite a sight.