Alleged drunkenness of astronauts, sabotage shake up NASA

News of the two latest bombshells broke within just a few hours of each other yesterday afternoon. Aviation Week & Space Technology reported on its website that a panel studying astronaut health found that on two occasions, astronauts were allowed to fly after flight surgeons and other astronauts warned they were so drunk they posed a safety risk.

The independent panel also found "heavy use of alcohol" before launch -- within the standard 12-hour "bottle-to-throttle" rule, the magazine reported.

An official with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration confirmed the report contains such details, but said they were from anonymous interviews and not substantiated. The official asked that his name not be used because NASA will discuss the health report today.

The Aviation Week story didn't say how long ago the alleged incidents took place, nor did it say whether it involved pilots or other crew members. At a news conference to discuss the upcoming space shuttle launch, set for Aug. 7, NASA's space operations chief was asked repeatedly about the drunken astronaut report. The manager, Bill Gerstenmaier, would say only that he had never seen an intoxicated astronaut before flight or been involved in any disciplinary action related to that.

Gerstenmaier also disclosed that an employee for a NASA subcontractor had cut the wires in a computer that was about to be loaded into the shuttle Endeavour. The subcontractor, which he wouldn't name, contacted NASA 1 1/2 weeks ago, as soon as it learned that another computer had been damaged deliberately, Gerstenmaier said. NASA hopes to fix the computer before next month's launch.