# The Challenger crew was alive until they hit the water. Did you know that? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 1, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153 "2010-07-01T03:10:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/21 "2010-07-01T23:07:15Z")
Out of curiosity, why does it matter? The crew and passengers of most aviation disasters are typically alive up until the point where they impact the planet. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/22 "2010-07-01T23:20:33Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Out of curiosity, why does it matter? The crew and passengers of most aviation disasters are typically alive up until the point where they impact the planet. Because it’s nice to think that they all died instantaneously in an explosion. Instead they had a bit to squirm in agony as they rocketed towards the Earth. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/23 "2010-07-01T23:42:58Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Out of curiosity, why does it matter? The crew and passengers of most aviation disasters are typically alive up until the point where they impact the planet. It’s interesting because it was downplayed–something that I don’t think would happen today, with the internet: just too many avenues for annonymous morbid curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/24 "2010-07-02T00:15:38Z")
[From wiki.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster) > [@](#): > > According to the Kerwin Report: > > The findings are inconclusive. The impact of the crew compartment with the ocean surface was so violent that evidence of damage occurring in the seconds which followed the disintegration was masked. > > Our final conclusions are: > the cause of death of the Challenger astronauts cannot be positively determined; > > the forces to which the crew were exposed during Orbiter breakup were probably not sufficient to cause death or serious injury; and > > the crew possibly, but not certainly, lost consciousness in the seconds following Orbiter breakup due to in-flight loss of crew module pressure.[11] Three out of four air packs had been activated and the volume of air used was what would be expected if they were alive during the whole fall. Several covered switches on the pilot’s panel had been moved from launch position. I remember hearing about at least one air pack in the weeks after, so I don’t think information was being withheld. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/25 "2010-07-02T01:07:44Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Videotape. > Challenger was live on television when it went up with a huge photogenic fireball. > > Columbia was a few white lines in the sky. I don’t think very many people, outside of school-aged kids, watched the launch live. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/26 "2010-07-02T02:14:54Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Telemetry from heart monitoring equipment? > > They were probably alive but not concious. This. The shuttle probably snap rolled hard enough to knock them out. ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/27 "2010-07-02T02:32:01Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I don’t think very many people, outside of school-aged kids, watched the launch live. That’s already a significant number of people, before even comparing it to how many people saw Colombia live. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/28 "2010-07-02T03:34:51Z")
I expected it to be true from day one - It seemed to me, watching the tape of the explosion, that you can see the crew module blowing off intact. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/29 "2010-07-02T03:37:37Z")
I think I first learned of this from Cecil’s column, too. I was a college student, volunteering as a news intern at an Ohio small-town radio station, on the day the _Challenger_ went down. I had an odd combination of feelings: very sad about the crew’s deaths, of course, but also thrilled to be somewhere where I could learn about what had happened before the rest of the public. My colleagues and I were glued to the AP and CNN screens that day. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/30 "2010-07-02T03:56:07Z")
Well, I didn’t know it until this thread. I’m a bit taken aback by it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/31 "2010-07-02T06:51:55Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Because it’s nice to think that they all died instantaneously in an explosion. Instead they had a bit to squirm in agony as they rocketed towards the Earth. I don’t think it’s really correct to say they _rocketed_ towards earth. They rocketed _away_ from earth, to be sure. Unfortunately they stopped rocketing way ahead of schedule. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/32 "2010-07-02T07:01:05Z")
\*_pause_ \* too soon? anyway does that mean the parachute failed to deploy for some reason or another? i thought the crew modules come with a re-entry parachute? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/33 "2010-07-02T07:44:08Z")
No, AFAIK, the crew module was never intended to be an escape capsule that could be jettisoned from the rest of the shuttle. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/34 "2010-07-02T10:51:49Z")
\*\*shijinn \*\*you’re thinking of non-reusable spacecraft like the Apollo, Gemini and Mercury missions. The shuttle is designed to land as a glider and the crew compartment is every bit as removable as the cockpit of an airplane. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/35 "2010-07-02T14:33:12Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > I expected it to be true from day one - It seemed to me, watching the tape of the **explosion** , that you can see the crew module blowing off intact. Bolding mine - the Challenger didn’t exactly explode. It disintegrated due to aerodynamic forces. The breakup did cause the remaining liquid fuel to ignite, but that’s not “exploding”. The venting from the faulty solid rocket booster caused the whole stack to twist in the supersonic airflow. This created aerodynamic forces sufficient for the joined structure to fail. It basically tumbled and got torn to pieces in a fraction of a second. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/36 "2010-07-02T14:46:41Z")
**EvilTOJ**. oh right, i was. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/37 "2010-07-02T14:47:46Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Out of curiosity, why does it matter? The crew and passengers of most aviation disasters are typically alive up until the point where they impact the planet. This. It’s not the fall that kills you. It’s the sudden stop. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/38 "2010-07-02T14:56:08Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I don’t think very many people, outside of school-aged kids, watched the launch live. But a LOT of school-aged kids watched the Challenger liftoff compared to others, thanks to the interested generated by Christa McAuliffe. That’s a big reason why the Challenger still resonates so strongly-- your primary audience consisted of countless of the most impressionable people in America: children. Not many children sitting in class watch people die on live television, that sort of thing sticks with you. I know it stuck with me, so many years later. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/39 "2010-07-02T16:56:30Z")
Interesting. I did not know that until this thread. ---
**Author:** ![History\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b19c9b/32.png) [@History\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/History_Geek)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153/40 "2010-07-02T17:45:48Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > \*\*shijinn \*\*you’re thinking of non-reusable spacecraft like the Apollo, Gemini and Mercury missions. The shuttle is designed to land as a glider and the crew compartment is every bit as removable as the cockpit of an airplane. If the shuttle had been designed similar to the [cockpit](http://www.f-111.net/ejection.htm) of [the F-111](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8l79lSjVMg), things could have turned out rather differently. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-challenger-crew-was-alive-until-they-hit-the-water-did-you-know-that/545153.md?page=3)