and now another easy question -

Did any members of the crew of the Columbia attempt bailout at hypersonic speeds?

What we know from the Challenger disaster is that a shuttle crew compartment is relatively rugged in comparison with the rest of a shuttle.

Looking at the distribution pattern of human remains and crew personal equipment
(available at http://www.cbsnews.com)
what we see is a wide scatterd distribution, including helmet and parachute found far from the resevoir location.

Looking at the columbia wfaa[2].mpeg, we see a relatively late explosion, following the appearance of a large piece of debris. Human reaction times must be considered when timing the disintegration by frames.

One major question is the find location of the crew compartment hatch.

If the crew did attempt hypersonic bailout, then the concept of adding a system independent speed and altitude indicator to the crew compartment should be looked at.

Assuming that the crew compartment remains intact during a defective re-entry, and that it can declerate to free fall, and that the crew is conscious and able, then an indicator of this type may be a significant safety aid.

ep