"The separation of the crew compartment deprived the crew of Orbiter-supplied oxygen, except for a few seconds supply in the lines. Each crew member's helmet wa

"The separation of the crew compartment deprived the crew of Orbiter-supplied oxygen, except for a few seconds supply in the lines. Each crew member's helmet was also connected to a personal egress air pack (PEAP) containing an emergency supply of breathing air (not oxygen) for ground egress emergencies, which must be manually activated to be available. Four PEAP's were recovered, and there is evidence that three had been activated." In other words, at least some of the astronauts may have survived the initial explosion, although they likely lost consciousness in the two minutes and forty-five seconds before the crew compartment hit the water. Source: http://www.spaceacts.com/howdied.htm http://www.spaceacts.com/howdied.htm