Yeah, that's an interesting question. They probably only have two options, neither one good. If you know early enough that it's going to happen then bailout is an option (and sacrifice the Orbiter). Or you can choose to land that way. If you don't find out until you push the button then you'll be on the ground in 10 seconds and there are no options- just ride it out. Good thing it never happened! At least there was lots of redundancy behind those push-buttons.
Interesting landing gear malf scenario. I wonder what the crew would do if one gear wouldn’t come down.
Yeah, that's an interesting question. They probably only have two options, neither one good. If you know early enough that it's going to happen then bailout is an option (and sacrifice the Orbiter). Or you can choose to land that way. If you don't find out until you push the button then you'll be on the ground in 10 seconds and there are no options- just ride it out. Good thing it never happened! At least there was lots of redundancy behind those push-buttons.