![]() ![]() In the case of Columbia, the orbiter breakup forces were great enough to actually dismember the astronauts and tear their bodies (and suits) apart as they separated from the remains of the orbiter, decelerated, and plummeted to Earth. We know that none of Columbia crew even had their helmet visors down and locked at the time of breakup (or after), demonstrating that the forces and environmental conditions they were subjected to rendered them unconscious very quickly and killed them well before impact with the ground. ![]() The STS-107 orbiter crew module broke up in such a way that the astronauts aboard would have had their pressure suit clad-bodies subjected to hypersonic entry conditions very early on into the break-up. In this case, Komarov's remains after impact were burned badly by the subsequent fire that was caused by the impact of his capsule with the ground.įor the STS-107 Columbia disaster - where the orbiter broke up at high altitude during re-entry - the occupants were killed very quickly (certainly before they hit the ground). Komarov survived re-entry interface, but his Soyuz capsule parachutes then failed to deploy properly, resulting in his capsule smacking into the ground at a horrific 200+km per hour, killing him instantly. Here below is a link to a NSFL image from the Soviet archives, showing the remains of Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, whose Soyuz 1 capsule suffered multiple failures - both while he was on orbit and during re-entry. Depending on the type of spacecraft failure that results in death, not much in the way of remains can be left over. ![]()
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February 2023
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