Anonymous Allegations

There are reports circulating that allegations have been made – anonymously – that US astronauts have been drunk at launch time. Aviation Week made a big splash by announcing that this was "found" by a panel that was looking into astronaut health issues.

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. At the direction of Administrator Michael Griffin, NASA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard S. Williams set up the panel to review astronaut medical and psychological screening after Nowak was arrested in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 5 on charges of attempted murder and attempted kidnapping for allegedly stalking and threatening a woman who was dating another astronaut. The attempted murder charge was subsequently dropped.

And Reuters is running with it – big time:

It was just another jolt for an operation that has had a rocky year from the start, beginning with the arrest of an astronaut accused of attacking a rival in a love triangle.

"It's going to shake up the world, I'll tell you that," retired NASA executive Seymour Himmel said of the latest news. "There will be congressional hearings that you will not be able to avoid."

News of the two latest bombshells broke within just a few hours of each other Thursday afternoon.

Aviation Week & Space Technology reported on its Web site that a special 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.

A NASA official 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 on Friday.

Is any of this true? I have no idea – and neither does anyone else, including Aviation Week. The report is not due out until August. If these allegations are actually in the report, they were made anonymously. One can allege anything if one does not have to face those he is accusing. Please keep that in mind. It is a cornerstone of what America was founded on. The right to confront an accuser is fundamental. The media is now committing to a trial by media of the entire space program, apparently. They spent their time at a press conference about the upcoming shuttle launch trying to trap a NASA official over the allegations. But the official only had this to say:

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 only say that he had never seen an intoxicated astronaut before flight or been involved in any disciplinary action related to that.

Let me point out one thing: if any flight surgeon allowed an inebriated astronaut to fly, then that surgeon is guilty of gross – probably criminal- negligence. Period. No exceptions, no excuses. If he reported his concerns and they were ignored, that surgeon should have resigned on the spot – no exceptions, no excuses. IF there is any truth to these allegations, I will be disappointed. But if the allegations are false, someone needs to answer for their lies. Absent anyone stepping forward to claim these allegations as their own – so we can evaluate the individual - we need to take a deep breath and not jump to conclusions.