As with the Apollo 1 fire, lack of escape provisions eventually doomed those crewmembers still alive after the explosion. Ejection seats that could have been used had been removed from all Space Shuttles after the first four qualification flights when the number of crew members was increased ...
Then-President Ronald Reagan addressed the country and paid tribute to the seven crew members -- Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ronald McNair, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis, Christa McAuliffe and Ellison Onizuka -- who "slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God."...