"Airliners do include provisions to help evacuate the passengers on the ground. Those provisions (quick opening hatches and slides) provide the basis for an idea that might possibly work on the Shuttle with a SpaceHab full of passengers, at least a better alternative than launching the unit out of the Shuttle cargo bay. I'd look into incorporating a mechanism like explosive bolts to blow the Shuttle cargo doors in an emergency, followed by a hatch on the SpaceLab itself. You could then evacuate the SpaceHab using slides similar to those used on airliners. Of course, only the Shuttle Commander would be able to blow the cargo doors and SpaceHab hatch but that's just a detail. The real question is whether you could route the slide away from the likely flames.

*Nobody* "blows" a hatch to vacuum, even if you're hysterical about fire.

- I think you've seen too many bad SF movies.

Emergency egress from a shuttle into space, even if you have a space suit, is not survivable except in a very restricted range of circumstances (i.e. docked to ISS, or at the time that a second shuttle is in close orbit)

Otherwise your oxygen runs out before you get rescued, or you might get barbecued - feet first- on uncontrolled re-entry.

Don't believe the "Dan Dare" stories. It's like jumping out of a Jumbo Jet and having your landing cushioned...

somewhow.