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.""

Comments

Is launching a shuttle so difficult?

[joshv]

My impression is that the Shuttle either gets to orbit on auto-pilot, entirely computer controlled, or it explodes. It's not like anyone is "steering" the thing manually, or pushing buttons in carefully timed sequences.

Now landing requires a bit of skill, but unless they have been nipping at the massive stash of Russian Vodka on the space station, they will have sobered up by landing time.

Re:Is launching a shuttle so difficult?

[enmane]

My impression is that the Shuttle either gets to orbit on auto-pilot, entirely computer controlled, or it explodes. It's not like anyone is "steering" the thing manually, or pushing buttons in carefully timed sequences.

EXACTLY - a _perfect_ reason to be drunk when a rocket is strapped to your @$$

The common factor is simply that we are all ......

[3seas]

... human.

It does not matter if you are an illegal alien residing in the US, a lawyer, a carpenter, a musician, a doctor, a nuclear reactor operator, a judge, a member of clergy, a CEO at a super major company, a richest man or second richest man, the ruler of a country...etc...

we are all capable of being stupid, dishonest and deadly. Usually its a choice!

Drunk Astronauts Have Never Been the Problem

[freeweed]

I don't know exactly how to phrase this, but...

It seems to me that so far it's been NASA's completely sober management decisions that have killed astronauts and lost shuttle equipment.

I'll start panicing about the astronauts having a few when they actually start affecting things. Makes me wonder just what kind of actually scary info is coming down the pipe from NASA, that they have to whip everyone into a frenzy with a story about OMG DRUNK ASTRONAUTS!!1

Re:Drunk Astronauts Have Never Been the Problem

[_Sprocket_]

Makes me wonder just what kind of actually scary info is coming down the pipe from NASA, that they have to whip everyone into a frenzy with a story about OMG DRUNK ASTRONAUTS!!1 I doubt its anything so calculated. It's simply a reflection of NASA's culture. NASA is hyber-sensitive about "safety." Anything that even has the appearance of causing death or injury gets a lot of attention. It is a part of an overall "safety" culture NASA management is trying to foster; the idea being that keeping safety in mind with even little things creates a pervasive mindset that helps avoid big accidents as well. Part of that cultural push is the concept that anyone can bring to light issues and have them addressed.

It sounds like a good idea. But put through the beurocratic lens, it becomes something just short of a new form of insanity. A lot of paperwork, hand-wringing, meetings, and instructional courses get wrapped up in this "safety" exercise. Sometimes there's some good outcomes. Sometimes it seems like a lot of work for questionable return.

After all, even in this "safe" culture, we have catastrophic failures. Some would be hard to avoid. Some are really bad mistakes. And it seems that the bad mistakes are more due to a lack of accuracy than a mind for safety (you can only be so safe doing this kind of work). A coworker of mine (hi Bart) noted at lunch this week that we'd be better off if "accuracy" became the new "safety". I'm all for it. Although... I'm kind of wondering what it'd become once we put it under that beucrocratic lense.

One last note - "safety" at NASA so often seems to be much ado about nothing. This particular report offers no details - no flights, no names.... nothing that can be directly addressed. Maybe this is the whistleblower's warning and details will come to light once an investigation starts digging. But it could also be an overreaction spurred on by the current culture over yet another non-issue. I'll be very curious to see how it all play out.

Who wouldn't?

[fishthegeek]

1. 2 Solid state rockets at 3,300,000 Lbs of thrust each.
2. Odds of dying on a shuttle mission are about 1:100
3. The shuttles are at or over 20 years old.
4. 2.5 million individual parts on a space shuttle.
5. Knowledge that the shuttle was made by the lowest bidders.
6. You're on it.

Who the hell wouldn't need a drink to get through the work day in those conditions!

Bunk

[Billosaur]

All I can say is, FUD of the highest order. No astronaut in his/her right mind (Nowak notwithstanding) would be drunk on launch day. There are dozens of abort scenarios a Shuttle astronaut has to be ready for if something goes wrong and no astronaut would jeopardize their safety and the safety of their crewmates by being less than 100% ready to go. I also don't believe for a second that any Shuttle commander would let someone fly on their crew if they were inebriated.

NASA bashing has now become a fashionable side profession for some, especially with the emergence of private space flight ventures. Say what you will about NASA management (and there's plenty I'd like to say!) but they do the best they can with what they're given and it's only pressure from the US Government combined with a desire to return to the glory days that pushes them into decisions that can be called questionable. Hubris may play a role, but not as big a role as the constant need to justify their existence to a public that has become blasé about spaceflight.

Re:it affects reaction times

[Dun Malg]

> I did banquets for them and never really saw any of them drink so much they were out of control or drunk.""

You don't have to be that intoxicated to pose a safety risk. If you can't perform a task flawlessly on cue People have this strange idea that being an astronaut in the space shuttle is the same thing as being an astronaut in the 60's. With the exception of the landing gear lowering, space shuttle flights are entirely automated. There's a lot of "what if" talk bandied about, but the systems are refined enough that the only problems we see are catastrophic and inescapable. We don't have malfunctioning attitude thrusters that have to be countered manually the keep the capsule from spinning out of control (Gemini 8), or wonky abort switches that have to be disabled by reprogramming the LM computer on the fly, while landing on the moon (Apollo 14). Those guys had to be sharp, calm, and well trained. The space shuttle is a freakin' self-driving bus. Just like modern airline pilots aren't all Chuck Yeager in the X-1, likewise modern astronauts aren't Lovell, Swigert, and Haise bringing Apollo 13 back largely under manual control.

It's not really all that credible.

[Frosty Piss]

There's a lot of talk about this drinking business, but let's take a look here: Anonymous reports about non-specific astronauts. It's not really all that credible. Sounds more like sour grapes from some jealous worker bee.