[snopercod]

Do you know if it's thought that it would have made much of a difference in the Challenger explosion ?

Yes I know, and no it wouldn't have. It might have kept the Challenger Astronauts alive until they impacted the ocean, that's all.

[bogeybob]

At 207,000 feet and 12,500 mph, once the vehicle started to disintergrate, there was no suffering on board. It was very, very quick as in "they never knew what hit them".