Continuity mistake: As Hal Holbrook's character is speaking with a mission technician, Holbrook's hands (holding a pen) keep moving between shots: one shot the hands are splayed out on his desk, the next shot his hands are cradling a pen, and then back to the hands splayed.
Continuity mistake: In the scene at the remote gas station, after Brubaker has entered the office, he goes through the cash register which is located at the end of the counter [viewer's right]. A couple of shots later, after breaking into the Coke machine, and while he is at the pay phone, the cash register is nearly a foot to the viewer's left on the counter. Also the coin box from the Coke machine is to the right of the cash register on the counter. In the previous shot when he turns from the Coke machine to go to the pay phone, you see the end of the cash register without the coin box in the way.
Chosen answer: It's never stated in the film, however, as the astronauts have been declared officially dead and therefore cannot ever be allowed to contact anybody, they were most likely executed as soon as they were captured.
Tailkinker