[snopercod]

...in which case the vertical stabilizer would undubtedly have snapped off.

That would also help explain why the orbiter got sidewise in the first place. I can't recall at what altitude the aerosurfaces become effective.

[#3Fan]

That would also help explain why the orbiter got sidewise in the first place. I can't recall at what altitude the aerosurfaces become effective.

That picture you guys are going off of isn't a sideways shuttle, it's a point of light that's out of focus. I know it looks like a shuttle, but it's simply the lens playing tricks being that it's out of focus.