I presume it was the target orientation since they held it for so long, had they wanted to actively leave that orientation earlier I assume they would have done

I presume it was the target orientation since they held it for so long, had they wanted to actively leave that orientation earlier I assume they would have done so. Especially subsonic I assume their orientation does not matter a whole lot when just trying to fall with max drag. Not sure how much energy they'll save doing the flip maneuver earlier though, seems like they want max drag as low as they can go, then flip to powered flight at the last moment possible -- and their problem seems to be keeping the engines lit.