Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Weekly World News publishes Challenger tape transcript
Message-ID: <1991Jan27.034041.23765@zoo.toronto.edu>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <38406@cup.portal.com> <9947@orca.wv.tek.com> <73191734@bfmny0.BFM.COM> <1991Jan25.162510.9542@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov> <1901@ksr.com>
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 1991 03:40:41 GMT

In article <1901@ksr.com> clj@ksr.com (Chris Jones) writes:
>The medical report done by Joe Kerwin makes it clear that the disintegration of
>the Challenger was eminently survivable, and that, judging from three of the
>four air packs examined, at least some of the crew survived until impact.  I
>believe he concluded they probably lost consciousness during the crew cabin's
>ascent and he does not speculate as to whether any of them regained
>consciousness during the descent.

First part correct; second part slightly wrong.  Kerwin's team was unable
to establish whether the cabin held pressure after the orbiter's breakup,
and the report's language is painstakingly neutral about this.  *If* the
cabin held pressure, it is likely the astronauts were conscious all the
way down.  If it didn't, the known behavior of hypoxia makes it almost
certain that they were unconscious within seconds and stayed that way
until impact.  Either way, cause of death was the water impact.  That's 
as far as the report goes.

In my opinion, one can catch a faint hint that the team thought the cabin
was unlikely to hold pressure.  For example, that would require that none
of the windows break and none of the damage done by the breakup breach
pressure integrity.  But the cabin was so smashed up by the water impact
that no definitive finding was possible.

In any case, apart from ghoulish curiosity, it is not really very important
whether the crew were conscious or not.  Much is made of how awful it would
have been for them, to the point where this has figured in lawsuits, but I
for one would prefer to spend the last few minutes of my life conscious.
I conjecture that they would mostly agree, although it is no longer possible
to ask them.
-- 
If the Space Shuttle was the answer,   | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
what was the question?                 |  henry@zoo.toronto.edu   utzoo!henry