[Houmatt]

It was chilling--they were alive after the explosion.

Balderdash.

The main rocket the Challenger set upon went up like a giant bomb. We have all seen the results.

The astronauts were killed instantly.

The only people who have said otherwise are sick sadists who enjoy hurting the families of those killed.

[bonesmccoy]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it is not likely that the STS-51-L crew died at the time of the "explosion".

Technically, the shuttle broke up from excessive aerodynamic forces, which appears to be similar to the video we saw today (break up of the vehicle and tumbling).

The official NASA report could not identify the cause of death of the crew (it was relevant to the design of the crew escape system).

[capitan_refugio]

The Challenger dialog was a hoax, however, there is some evidence that one or more crewmembers survived the "explosion." That evidence included that two or more of the emergency breathing packs were partially consumed, and that switches on the pack had been put into the on position.

Also, the condition of the orbiter debris recovered from the ocean indicated that the main deck of the orbiter remained intact through the explosion and to the crash into the ocean. They know this because the pieces of the main deck were fairly close to each other on the ocean floor. If the orbiter had blown completely apart at altitude, the debris would have been widespread.

Resnick's pack was almost empty, indicating possible hyperventilation breathing, whereas other packs were only partially emptied, suggesting the occupant was unconcious or dying.

I put the word "explosion" in quotation marks because there is another, more technically accurate word for what the fuel did, but I can recall it at this time. I'll have to do some research.

[capitan_refugio]

I found the term I was referring to:

"The Challenger's reaction control system ruptured and a hypergolic burn of its propellants occurred."