Astronauts Have Flown While Drunk, NASA Finds

Astronauts Have Flown While Drunk, NASA Finds
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: July 27, 2007

NASA’s astronauts have flown while intoxicated on at least two occasions, according to reports of an internal NASA investigation, and the astronauts involved were warned that their drunkenness constituted a safety risk to the flight. But it is unclear whether this is a current problem and whether the incidents involved space shuttle flights.

The report, which has not been released, was described in an article published yesterday on the Web site of Aviation Week and Space Technology. According to the article, the panel investigators reported “ ‘heavy use of alcohol’ by astronauts” within 12 hours of flying.

According to people who have seen the report, it is a 12-page document with a single paragraph that deals with the accusations of alcohol and flying. It gives no details or specifics on the astronauts or the circumstances surrounding the incidents.

NASA said it would hold a news conference about the report today. Yesterday, NASA officials were asked about it at a news conference about the next shuttle mission, that of the Endeavour, which is scheduled to lift off as early as Aug. 7.

William H. Gerstenmaier, the head of space operations for NASA, declined to discuss the report before its release, but said, “I’ve never had any instances” involving safety risks because of drunken astronauts.

“There’s not been a disciplinary action or anything I’ve been involved with regarding this type of activity,” Mr. Gerstenmaier said.

A veteran astronaut, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment, said he had seen no evidence of alcohol problems or heavy use of alcohol before shuttle missions. “As with any group of people, some people drink and some don’t on social occasions,” he said of the astronaut corps.

He also raised questions about the timing of the alleged drinking.

“I wonder how someone could get into trouble right before a launch because of the way they keep us bottled up right before a flight,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of preflight requirements, including a sleep period and examinations before breakfast and suiting up before heading to the pad. There’s lot to do and a lot of people watching you.”

Michael Griffin, the NASA administrator, ordered the report after the February arrest of an astronaut, Capt. Lisa Marie Nowak of the Navy, who confronted a romantic rival in the parking lot of Orlando International Airport. Captain Nowak has since been fired by NASA and will be tried in Florida on charges of assault and attempted kidnapping.

Mr. Griffin asked the panel to evaluate the medical and psychological screening astronauts receive to determine if there were problem areas.

At yesterday’s news conference, Mr. Gerstenmaier also acknowledged that a worker at a space agency subcontractor had deliberately cut wires in equipment headed for the International Space Station. The sabotage was discovered before the device was loaded onto the shuttle.

The device, which is being repaired, is not critical to the space station, Mr. Gerstenmaier said, so even if the damage had not been detected, it would not have posed a danger. The incident is under investigation, he said.

Kenneth Chang and Warren E. Leary contributed reporting.