Unfortunately, few of us get to die pain free in bed at home surrounded by many loved ones while lookng back on a life filled with successes.

Now for the details. Memory may have failed me, but Columbia as shuttle number 1 was initially equipped with explosive bolts to separate the crew compartment from the rest of the vehicle in case of catastrophic failure on its first test flight. The bolts were since removed, but that would have remained a structural failure point.

Like Keene (sp?) said, the crew compartment might have held to frei punkt, at which speed bailout might have been possible. But...

This brings us to the video, and the final explosive decompression of the crew compartment. Another thing to remember is that the distribution of the different crew member's body parts was well mapped, and further the nations best forensic experts examined their remains...

What is needed is a simple bailout indicator on the hatch next to the handle. Battery powered, no structural mods, simple gyros, and big easy to read gauge with 3 big color bands, red, yellow, green.

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