Challenger crew 'didn’t die instantly' and were 'conscious as shuttle fell to earth'
dailystar.co.ukspace shuttle disaster may not have died instantly when it "exploded" 72 seconds after launch, according to new evidence.Millions watched in horror as the Space Shuttle Challenger launched at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on January 28 in 1986.Friends and family can be heard cheering off the astronauts, but just over a minute after launch, the shuttle burst into flames over the Atlantic Ocean.The shuttle was recorded to have reached 65,000 feet before it plummeted into the ocean.Just seconds before Challenger launched, a fire is reported to have broken out onboard following a booster to prevent leaks from a fuel tank failing.This caused the fuel tank to collapse from hot gas before it was torn apart.NASA has always insisted that all crew members, including teacher Christa McAuiffe, had died instantly in the horrifying disaster.However, new evidence has emerged decades later that reveals the crew may have been alive for several seconds after the shuttle began to be torn apart.Despite the huge fireball, the Challenger is said to have remained intact for several seconds before it was torn apart by atmospheric forces as it plummeted down to Earth.Every member of the crew aboard the Challenger has its own air pack, which would help them survive for several minutes in an emergency.According to new evidence, three of the air packs had been manually activated following a search of the Challenger wreckage.The evidence is contained in a report by Dr Joseph.
Kerwin, director of Life Sciences at the Johnson Space Center.Despite the horrifying scenes of the blast broadcast on TV, Dr Kerwin believes that the explosion was not strong enough to kill or seriously injure the crew.Initially NASA and the media reported the shuttle had.
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