UK magazine claims Challenger crew survived initial breakup

[shuttle_rtf]

Those that have the released information on the failure of STS-51L know that the cabin was more less intact after the breakup - but the Reader's Digest in the UK has a report on apparent cover-ups on the actual cause of death.<br /><br />It's a pretty sick and graphic run down of events - claiming the crew were aware and alive all the way down to the ocean, with the impact and/or drowning as the cause of death.<br /><br />It is critical of NASA for not getting to the scene fast enough as they could have saved them.<br /><br />Personally, I think that is BS as it is. I remember it being impossible to send in recovery ships for a good hour due to falling parts of the ET etc.<br /><br />Very annoying.

 

[najab]

><i>It is critical of NASA for not getting to the scene fast enough as they could have saved them.</i><p>It wouldn't have mattered how quickly the rescue teams had gotten there - the crew module impacted at over 360km/h which resulted in impact forces of over 200Gs. Even if the crew were alive (almost certain) and conscious (possible) all the way down, there can be no doubt that the impact killed them.</p>

 

[drwayne]

There was a hoax story (exposed as such some years ago) that had a transcript after breakup. Don't fall for that either.<br /><br />It must have been a slow news day - NASA has said for years that the breakup was in fact survivable.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[thalion]

I read that there were actually signs that the crew had taken safety precautions in such a way that suggested that they had survived the explosion, but have not seen that confirmed from any other source.

 

[rybanis]

How high is the shuttle when its 73 seconds into assent? There is NO way you could survive the impact with the water at that speed.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[drwayne]

Some of the personal egress packs were activated. These were intended for sea level escape however, supllying air, not oxygen.<br /><br />As far as I can tell, no determination has ever been made whether the crew cabin was breached or help pressure after the breakup.<br /><br />Breakup was at about 48,000 feet, with the compartment going as high as 60,000 feet.<br /><br />The crew cabin hit the water at a little over 200 mph on Scobee's side - As was indicated earlier, this gave an impact decleration of about 200 G's.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Some of the personal egress packs were activated.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />To elaborate, I understand that of the four that were recovered in a relatively intact state, three had been activated and one had not. It was not possible to tell with the remaining three -- presumably they were too badly damaged to tell if they'd been activated or not (whether that damage came from impact or saltwater immersion).<br /><br />Given that the crew did not wear pressure suits, and given that at least one emergency pack was not activated, it is unlikely they were all conscious at impact, though it's impossible to know for sure. Most likely, however, the loss of cabin pressure would have rendered them unconscious fairly quickly even with the supplemental air flow.<br /><br />In some respects, that might be a solace. With the pressurized suits they wear on Shuttle flights today, they'd almost certainly remain conscious all the way down. <img src="/images/icons/shocked.gif" /> I don't think that's a reason to go back to the shirtsleeve ascent, however -- there's no way of predicting what sort of accident the crew might have to escape from. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>