Too good to check: Astronauts blasted at blast off
posted at 6:07 pm on July 26, 2007 by Allahpundit
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Maybe it’s part of an experiment to see how time slows down in space? Dunno, but after Challenger and Columbia, let he who wouldn’t liquor up the night before strapping himself to a giant rocket-fueled powderkeg cast the first stone.
A panel reviewing astronaut health issues in the wake of the Lisa Nowak arrest has found that on at least two occasions astronauts were allowed to fly after flight surgeons and other astronauts warned they were so intoxicated that they posed a flight-safety risk.
The panel, 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.
A NASA spokesman declined comment on the findings, which were obtained by Aviation Week & Space Technology. The spokesman said a press conference has tentatively been scheduled for Friday afternoon on the issue.
Between this and diaper lady, it’s been a tough year for NASA. And getting tougher by the moment.
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Considering NASA’s recent safety record, a pint of something anesthetizing isn’t that much out of order for all but the immediate flight crew.
But they should all should have spring-loaded morphine injectors sewn in their flightsuit legs in case the worst happens.
profitsbeard on July 26, 2007 at 6:14 PM
There was a time when Astronauts were made of the right stuff, like Marine Corps and Navy test pilots and combat pilots with nerves of steel.
Now they’ll let any diaper wearing geek with a PhD go to space.
TheSitRep on July 26, 2007 at 6:15 PM
I’d have to be blitzed to climb into one of those things, too.
Blacklake on July 26, 2007 at 6:17 PM
I’ll have another glass of the right stuff (hic!)
Kini on July 26, 2007 at 6:19 PM
I second this! It would take somewhere between the amount of alcohol needed for me to perform Karaoke and unconsciousness. A very narrow line.
JayHaw Phrenzie on July 26, 2007 at 6:19 PM
A diaper wearing geek became a U S Senator from Louisiana so letting a geek with a PHD go into space may is not that unusual in today’s world. Next thing you know, they will have designer Pampers on the market in exotic colors.
volsense on July 26, 2007 at 6:21 PM
Give’s a whole new meaning to “spaced out” wonder if they mixed it with Tang?
ajmontana on July 26, 2007 at 6:40 PM
Fly Me To The Moon…
PowWow on July 26, 2007 at 6:46 PM
Vodka on the moon rocks!
SouthernGent on July 26, 2007 at 6:49 PM
Maybe now they should install a wet bar.Ha ha
canopfor on July 26, 2007 at 6:50 PM
Do you want to live forever? Well maybe some old whiskey first.
Speakup on July 26, 2007 at 6:52 PM
If I was going to be launched into orbit id get drunk first too
triple on July 26, 2007 at 7:06 PM
Damnit Senator Kennedy I thought I told you not to go into the cockpit with the crew!!!
Defector01 on July 26, 2007 at 7:06 PM
I work for the airlines and they tell us that the altitude (40,000 ft) doubles the effect of alcohol … damn, imagine what what would happen to you if you had a Jack n’ Coke at *SPACE SHUTTLE* altitude!
Don’t drink and dri … FLY dammit!
Tony737 on July 26, 2007 at 7:07 PM
That’s the only condition I’d be in if I were going!
RMCS_USN on July 26, 2007 at 7:07 PM
“Houston, we are GO for weightlessness spool-up.”
(No problem or major malfunction here — just following proper procedures, ya’ know.)
CyberCipher on July 26, 2007 at 7:08 PM
BTW, NASA has just GOT to standardize on a different color for flightsuits. The astronauts look like escaped convicts — even BEFORE they try to kidnap their love interest’s girlfriend (a la diaper lady).
CyberCipher on July 26, 2007 at 7:17 PM
Absolut NASA…
JetBoy on July 26, 2007 at 7:32 PM
I have no use for the sonsofbitches. I hope that they are fired, on the spot, so that they can fly their Piper Cubs, instead.
Selfish, immature and an embarrassment. And typical of the hedonistic, American of today.
OhEssYouCowboys on July 26, 2007 at 7:52 PM
So what I heard that the Soviets developed powdered vodka for their cosmonauts.
Dork B. on July 26, 2007 at 8:01 PM
Can’t say as I blame them. No way I’d walk onto that damn thing without sedation.
I just wish NASA would let them talk during the mission.
Wouldn’t it be cool to hear “99 bottles of beer on the shuttle”????
Talon on July 26, 2007 at 8:27 PM
Well Ford had Arthur drink six pints before they went into space the first time. . .
- The Cat
MirCat on July 26, 2007 at 8:36 PM
Pretty soon they’ll be taking some of Cheech and Chong’s “magic dust” just like Santa does to help him fly.
… a little for Santa, a little for the reindeer… a little MORE for Santa…
Mojave Mark on July 26, 2007 at 8:40 PM
Has Lindsey Lohan signed up for astronaut training yet?
Mojave Mark on July 26, 2007 at 8:44 PM
Damn right. Now I am not endorsing getting drunk before flying the shuttle, but there is no way in hell I am strapping 10 million sticks of dynamite to my ass without taking a couple stiff belts first. Anyone who can, well my hat is off to you with great respect, but not me bubba.
doriangrey on July 26, 2007 at 9:14 PM
I hate to fly. Scares the jebus out of me. I need three stiff scotches to get on an airplane. The shuttle? Heroin please.
HerrMorgenholz on July 26, 2007 at 9:14 PM
*faceplant on desk*
Why am I not surprised? The government-run schools are disasters, so why isn’t it such a schock that the people piloting the most god**** expensive plane on the planet (owned and run by the govt) can’t take off without getting plastered?
I sure wouldn’t want someone doing a spacewalk with beer in their blood! For crying out loud, space is dangerous enough without sabotaging your own reflexes!
Not to mention it puts billions of dollars of rare equipment at risk…
Dark-Star on July 26, 2007 at 9:23 PM
That’s unpressurized atmosphere. I don’t think it would matter what they were drinking if they went up to space unpressurized.
If NASA needs to do a little housekeeping I’ll sign up in an instant. I can’t believe no one else here thinks it would be totally freakin sweet to blast into space.
BadgerHawk on July 26, 2007 at 10:17 PM
I’m with you, Badger. Let’s sign up.
I simply cannot believe anyone would be allowed within 1,000 yards of a launch vehicle with any hint of inebriation. It just boggles the mind.
There are literally 10,000 things that can go wrong during launch, and every one of the possibilities requires a clear mind and fast reflexes and a steady hand.
The only way I will ever believe this is hearing it directly from a flight commander. There is no freaking way this is true.
BacaDog on July 26, 2007 at 10:30 PM
The original astronauts from the 60’s were Navy and Air Force pilots. An entirely different breed.
If you don’t have the type of personality that can handle that kind of risk (and it is not my kind of risk) you have no business wanting to go into space, no matter what kind of PhD you have after your name.
We’re talking about causing loss of life and loss of billions of dollars if someone cause a disaster if you’re DWI.
INC on July 26, 2007 at 10:44 PM
If I had even a miniscule amount of control over my destiny I’d remain sober. However there is no steering wheel or brake pedal and once they set that firecracker off you’re just along for the ride. Oh bartender?
repvoter on July 26, 2007 at 11:57 PM
This is old news. Everyone knows that the first international astronaut – West German physicist Ulf Merbold – shunned NASA’s traditional steak ‘n eggs Columbia launch breakfast in 1983 for braut und kraut and a trio of Warsteiners. Earning the STS-9 nickname “Ra-ulf” as the first to experience motion sickness in both a shuttle and Skylab, Merbold may have been lit as well on his second NASA liftoff in 1992. Germans consider beer to be food, and NASA will admit to accommodating the 2-lager-per-day ration traditionally supplied to those serving in the German military as a “good will” gesture. Exit question for a 10-day mission: Cans, bottles or pony keg?
T J Green on July 27, 2007 at 5:26 AM
So what happens if you pop a top in weightlessness?
SicSemperTyrannus on July 27, 2007 at 7:40 AM
As long as it does not involve the pilot, it’s not that big a deal. I suspect that the definition of intoxication is somewhat different in that environment than in ours.
No mission has been compromised. The work level is highly demanding and it has been met.
Ease off.
drjohn on July 27, 2007 at 8:31 AM
Who said it was the space craft commander, and the pilot?
There are 4 passengers, ya know? How many hours do those passengers sit while waiting for launch? Doing what, exactly?
When have they ever done a spacewalk minutes after launch?
Or are you trying to say that those crew members who
launched while intoxicated, stayed that way for ten days?
rockhauler on July 27, 2007 at 8:41 AM
Well that’s the problem, isn’t it? They were obviously drinking cans!
crazy_legs on July 27, 2007 at 9:37 AM
Dude, that is WAY funny!
bernzright777 on July 27, 2007 at 10:32 AM
Oh, c’mon people. Nothing wrong with a little tip-o-the-bottle. The rocket nearly flies itself anyway and these astronauts could fly it in their sleep.
In fact, would anyone be surprised if they secretly stowed away some space-juice to sip during the journey?
The Russians do it. It’s part of their space rations, in fact.
CliffHanger on July 27, 2007 at 10:39 AM
I’d need a drink before launching. Is a hangover worse at gravity or in weightlessness?
What have we here….a new victim group?
Drunk at Mission Control? Yeah, I’d be worried.
doingwhatican on July 27, 2007 at 5:26 PM
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