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Houston, We Have a Drinking Problem
Pcol writes "Aviation Week reports that astronauts were allowed to fly on at least two occasions after flight surgeons and other astronauts warned they were so intoxicated that they posed a flight-safety risk. A review panel, convened in the wake of the Lisa Nowak arrest to review astronaut medical and psychological screening, also reported "heavy use of alcohol" by astronauts before launch, within the standard 12-hour "bottle to throttle" rule applied to NASA flight crew members. Dr. Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon, says it's a tradition for crew members to gather for a barbecue on the eve of a shuttle launch, and these gatherings sometimes include alcohol and a toast but that the greater problem is that preparation before a flight can leave astronauts sleep-deprived and overworked. Meanwhile at Frenchie's Italian Restaurant, a popular astronaut hangout in Houston, owner Frankie Camera disputed the reports: "The Mercury astronauts may have been a little more wild (than later ones) but I did banquets for them and never really saw any of them drink so much they were out of control or drunk.""
But on the moon, blood alcohol is one-third of what is on Earth.
Or an drunk astronaut decides to start mashing buttons just for fun...
"You think I'm going up in that thing sober?"
What's next at NASA, a crazy love triangle? Oh wait ...
Paris Hilton and Nicohol Richie could pass a flight medical test? What's next Keith Richards passing a flight readness test?
or at least a love triangle related murder of passion.
FTA: "A panel member said Wednesday the report was still in draft form..."
Me, I'd prefer the bottled version...
Of course, I'd have to read it quickly, because of the 12 hour "throttle the bottle" rule. Dang - got that the wrong way around again!
I am not a manual I am a human being! - The distress call of the TechSupport Badger
If I were in charge they would get punished hard. As in torture. yeah, that's right, torture. First I'd give them poison. Some kind that would give them a splitting headache, as if their brain is too big for their skulls. Then I'd surround them with some ear-splitting noise, not unlike the sound of rockets launching. Finally I'd give them some nausea inducing experience. Like how when you're on a plane and the altitude drops suddenly making you "weightless" for a second. But I'd make it last several days.
Yeah, that'd learn 'em not to get drunk before a shuttle mission.
Oh wait.
Free the Quark 3 from asymptotic confinement! Bring your charm! Don't get down! All colours and flavours welcome!
This could have been worse. It could have been a lot worse.
If those astronauts were drinking Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters, the shit really would have hit the fan.
So, are we going to see extradition papers come in so they can face DUI charges in every country they flew over?
If it helps, the orbiters are among the safest vehicles on a per passenger mile basis. It doesn't help that it moves at nearly 18,000 miles per hour though, picking up over 100k passenger miles an hour, so you really clock up the miles on a mission.
It's hard to even imagine such a thing.
Why, it's as hard to imagine as a President's once being a cocaine user, a Tour de France winner using hormones, or a major evangelical pastor having had sex with a male prostitute.