BartSimpson BartSimpson:
DrCaleb DrCaleb:
Like the Shuttles had post Challenger?
It would be almost the size of the aircraft. That's still a lot of mass to bring down.
Sadly, the Challenger's main cabin did indeed separate during the explosion and it is no secret that the flight recorder caught crew conversations while the cabin plummeted to the sea. From what I understand the flight crew was desperately trying to get control of the shuttle while not knowing that most of the craft was obliterated.
They were alive all the way down to the impact on the water.
I recall.
But before the Challenger, the number of abort systems wer elimited. Post Challenger, a couple were added to the fleet:
$1:
After the loss of Challenger in STS-51-L, numerous abort enhancements were added. With those enhancements, the loss of two SSMEs was now survivable for the crew throughout the entire ascent, and the vehicle could survive and land for large portions of the ascent. The struts attaching the orbiter to the external tank were strengthened to better endure a multiple SSME failure during SRB flight. Loss of three SSMEs was survivable for the crew for most of the ascent, although survival in the event of three failed SSMEs before T+90 seconds was unlikely due to design loads being exceeded on the forward orbiter/ET and SRB/ET attach points, and still problematic at any time during SRB flight due to controllability during staging.[4]
A particularly significant enhancement was bailout capability. Unlike the ejection seat in a fighter plane, the shuttle had an inflight crew escape system[10] (ICES). The vehicle was put in a stable glide on autopilot, the hatch was blown, and the crew slid out a pole to clear the orbiter's left wing. They would then parachute to earth or the sea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_abort_modes
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