[r9etb]

I mean how much stress could the side of the shuttle take?

For it to scatter pieces where it did, the Shuttle must have broken apart very soon after this video was taken.

[Chesterbelloc]

My GUESS is that the forces would have ripped it apart immediately - ie in much less than a second. Like those videos of buildings when a shock wave from a nuclear explosion hits them. 14,000 mph is pretty darn fast.

And since its late and I'm tired and ready for bed and I'm guessing - here's my take - it's free so take it for what its worth:

5:15 Shuttle Deorbits

5:44 Shuttle first encounters Earth's atmosphere and starts heating up.

5:53 Shuttle is now just north of San Francisco infiltrating heat takes out the first sensor. NASA is not concerned - in the press conference they said that this sometimes happens.

5:55 Shuttle passes by me - heat continues to take out sensors - nothing is noticable from the ground.

5:58 Shuttle passes over Owen's Valley and into Nevada - from the ground at Owen's Valley (Eastern side of Sierras) he should have been able to see the shuttle as it passed over much of Nevada. Heat now takes out tire (it pops) and tire pressure sensor goes off. Maybe this causes something that is seen from the ground at Owen's Valley but not noticed aboard the shuttle.

6:00 Shuttle passes into Texas - it has now sustained enough damage for a catastrophic event.

Night all - hope we never have another day like this. God Bless and Keep the families...