Weeks later I received a transcript from another colleague, confirming my suspicious that indeed, a portion of Challenger had survived.  From what I read, several members of Challenger’s crew survived, only to die of oxygen depravation as they waited, vainly, for rescue.  You see, seven dead martyrs were much better than a few live witnesses.  Months later, when the acting administrator of NASA was up for full approval by the Senate, it just so happened Senator Fritz Hollings, of SC was the chairman of the committee.  I organized what we called a ‘phone tree’ of people from South Carolina.  The morning of the vote people began calling his office at 8:30.  The vote was scheduled for something like 11:00.  At 10:45 I made the final call and was put directly through to the Senator’s Chief of Staff.  I was told, immediately, that the Senator surrendered, and the nomination was being rejected.  Several thousand people called that morning.  I had a bit of revenge.  It was also my last act dealing with the space program.  My heart was broken.  It is still my first love, but there was such a sense of betrayal I could never return.