John Farley,
I believe blackouts of shuttle communications during re-entry no longer happen. The shuttle communicates and transmits data in the UHF, S, and Ku bands. The Ku (and I think the S band as well) band space-ground data is sent using geostationary TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay) satellites. Using the TDRS avoids the blackout that was the constant feature of all Mercury through early shuttle missions.
Downlink data rate on the Ku Band is 50 Mbps. So NASA should have all the telemtry data to the moment of breakup and complete loss of signal.