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working the problem? why did they allow re-entry to even start, shouldn't they have worked the problem while in orbit? or is it that they didn't realize it until re-entry had already started?

The visual scrutiny wasn't as intense as it was this mission, because they had no idea anything was wrong. Everything was done by instrument, no one visually looked at the wing to see the damage.

They were working the problem because they didn't know it was caused by wing damage. The military offered to photograph the shuttle Columbia for NASA. NASA's engineers all signed off that the debris hitting the wing was of no consequence. In fact they even decided *not* to use an alternate flight used to break more and differently to reduce stress on the wing because they were so sure. They were pompous and felony stupid at NASA. The CA engineers who used to work the shuttle knew it was trouble. Amateurs at FR and elsewhere on-line knew a chunk of ice at that velocity was trouble.

And yet, seeming because NASA knew it couldn't actually fix the problem in space, couldn't get Columbia up to ISS, couldn't dock Columbia with anything, couldn't use EVA suits, couldn't use a robotic arm for snap shots... they didn't bother pursuing the issue and just hoped they were right. Those seven were already dead just after lift off and didn't know it yet. Columbia's loss was a truly horrific case of incompetence and lack of preparedness.

The reality didn't set it until reentry began and the warning light went off. When the Columbia started to come apart, the astronauts were definitely alive. There was definitely a point where knew they would never make it home.

There's every indication even Challenger's astronauts died on the way down or upon hitting the water rather than in the initial explosion.