Houston, We Have a Problem … NASA: Sabotaged Flight Computer & Astronauts Flying Drunk

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM …

What is going on at NASA? We have heard stories of NASA astronauts driving thousands of miles in diapers in twisted plots of kidnapping and love triangle revenge. Now there is  sabotaged flight computers and astronauts flying drunk. What is going on at our space program? 12 hours from bottle to throttle?

The US space agency said the damage to wiring in a network box was intentional and obvious, but said it could be repaired before take-off on 7 August

The discovery came as an independent health panel was reported to have found that astronauts had been allowed to fly after drinking alcohol.

The panel found that on two occasions Nasa astronauts had been allowed to fly despite warnings from flight surgeons and other astronauts that they were so drunk they posed a safety risk, flight journal Aviation Week and Space Technology reported. (BBC)

The NASA space program was always thought to go through so many pre-flight checks prior to any mission. Flights have been delayed and scrubbed for what would seem minor technicalities. It is hard to believe that NASA would have s policy that astronauts are only required not to drink 12 hours in advance. 12 hours? Is this the best we can do? The billions of dollars that is pumped into a space program, the inherent dangers of space flight and all we are asking is 12  hours from bottle to throttle. Could we set the “bar” any lower?  

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.