[Rome2000]

if I'm understanding the information you just presented me correctly then they could have been saved by the manner which I took me less than a minute to formulate and knowing only te basics surrounding the ship's capabilities

It certainly appears that was possible, though I don't believe a bloodbath at NASA is the best way to go right now.

These people will have to live with this everyday of their lives.

[Magnum44]

Not sure but the airlock may have been 'occupied' with the space lab tunnel. Maybe I missed it skimming the post, but if the lab is on board and mated to the tunnel, an exterior lock may not be available. Seems like a design oversight, I know.

Of course, I am looking at at from the crews perspective. One has to remember that the 'vehicle' side of NASA does not think of the shuttle as something the crew owns or is responsible for, they prefer to think of the crew as passengers or even renters. In fact, the crew really is not authorized to do anything with the vehicle on its own. All operations must follow the carefully constructed scripts with ground controllers giving their nods almost every step of the way.

From the ground controllers perspective, unless its a mission requirement, there's no need for the 'passengers' to be strolling outside.