I did the math. So, the minimal orbit at 180 km, the one that grazes the earth's surface at its perigee, is about 7.75 km/s or 27,900 kph. The other commenters are right: it was never technically orbital.

edit:

    (let* ((μ 398600.0)     ;; km^3/s^2
           (r 6371.0)       ;; km
           (peri (+ r 0.0))
           (apo (+ r 180.0))
           (a (* 0.5 (+ peri apo))))
      (sqrt (* μ
               (- (/ 2.0 apo)
                  (/ 1.0 a)))))
    ;; 7.745844595118488