I thought they were blown apart and died instantly. If they were alive while falling back to earth, if must have been terrifying for them.
That was the one that Richard Feynman was tasked to figure out what went wrong, wasn't it? Was supposedly due to an O-ring being unable to seal properly, i think.
That was the one that Richard Feynman was tasked to figure out what went wrong, wasn't it? Was supposedly due to an O-ring being unable to seal properly, i think.
I can't remember in which of his books about how amazingly clever he is the story appears but during a debate about whether or not o rings lost pliancy in freezing temperatures, with all sorts of data being presented, it occurred to him to dunk one into the ice water on the conference room table and then snap it right there in front of everyone to gasps of amazement, which served to enshrine him in history's hall of fame with the greatest I told you so moment of all time. I confess that I always had my doubts about that tale since I've never seen a piece of rubber approach brittle in cold temps, so maybe it was something other than rubber, but trying to snap one without dunking it in ice water would be a nifty control. And I've never seen an o ring used in an application where it has to flex back and forth without cracking since their job is to sit still while being a little bit squashed and maintain a seal while not being extruded out under whatever pressure is leaning on it, but then no one has ever seen fit to seat me at a conference table that has ice water on it either, so what the fuck do I know.
The lofty, memorable President Reagan speech lends one to think they were instantly killed upon explosion.
I suspect a couple stayed alive until they hit the ground and the others died quickly from the blast shock.
Hard to function with a busted o-ring. Just ask all my ex-girlfriends.
No, the shuttle was intact. Evidence showed that the pilot and 2 others was still alive and it was clear that he fought in vain to reactivate systems all the way to the bitter end. Power was knocked out when it exploded so only emergency oxygen was available which didn't do much good as depressurization knocked out the rest of them instantly.