[Wisconsinlady]

Tough decision. But I still would have wanted to get the choice to pray and say goodbye to my loved ones.

[cripplecreek]

Any trip into space is a potential suicide mission and I think I would make sure I said what I had to say before launch.

[ken5050]

Absolutely correct. They all understood the risks of space flight, and knew there was no possibility of a rescue mission.

Why not have compromised..say, told them maybe 2-3 days before scheduled re-entry..that would have given them time to pray, ( they could have received the last rites) and speak with their loved ones. I would have wanted that..the time, the chanced to say goodbye..

Alternatively, some might have wanted to have videos recorded in Houston to be shown to there loved ones later one, days, weeks, or years later. Several had children..imagine being able to record a video(s) to be shown to your daughter at her graduation, or her wedding, or the birth of your grandchild. I would have wanted the chance to leaved that type of legacy..

OTOH, I've never read anywhere if the astronauts do thats sort of thing, or not, before each flight. In Lovell's book "Lost Moon" about the Apollo XII mission, he writes about the plans the Apollo astronauts made in the event of an accident. There were no suicide pills on the lunar lander. All they had to do was depressurize the cabin, and death would have been near instantaneous