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What makes an astronaut crack?
LA Times ^
| February 9, 2007
| Homer Hickam
Posted on 02/09/2007 9:24:42 AM PST by Fitzcarraldo
AS A FORMER NASA astronaut training manager responsible for crew training for shuttle missions, I was not entirely surprised by the initial reports of the sad, bizarre case of Lisa Marie Nowak.
This isn't the first case of astronauts having difficulties in their personal lives. Usually, the straying astronaut simply resigns or retires, and everything is hushed up. But being charged with assault, attempted kidnapping and attempted murder is far greater than anything I ever observed or imagined could occur. Perhaps this tragedy will bring some of the agency's long-ignored problems into the open.
First is the tremendous and unnecessary pressures brought to bear on the members of NASA's cloistered astronaut office. This is the division at the Johnson Space Center in Houston where the astronauts work. It is the office that assigns each astronaut his or her job. Since most astronauts are waiting to be put on a mission, these jobs — such as working on the shuttle hydraulic system or sitting in on meetings about a new science payload — are important, but they're usually no more difficult than the ones accomplished routinely by other NASA engineers and scientists. The difference is the astronauts come under constant scrutiny by their management to determine who will fly and who will not. Some never get assigned to a space mission, yet they are called astronauts as long as they work for NASA.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: astronaut; homerhickam; lowrisejeans; nowak; plumberspants
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HOMER HICKAM is the author of "Rocket Boys/October Sky," "The Keeper's Son" and many other books.
To: Fitzcarraldo
What makes an astronaut crack? Depends.
2
posted on
02/09/2007 9:25:36 AM PST
by
AU72
To: Fitzcarraldo
Love or Lust
Lust or Love
3
posted on
02/09/2007 9:25:48 AM PST
by
IrishMike
("Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events.Small minds discuss people.")
To: Fitzcarraldo
I don't think it was crack, it was meth.
4
posted on
02/09/2007 9:26:02 AM PST
by
ikka
To: Fitzcarraldo
I don't know...space suit pants that don't come up high enough to cover it when they bend over?
5
posted on
02/09/2007 9:26:14 AM PST
by
rlmorel
(Islamofacism: It is all fun and games until someone puts an eye out. Or chops off a head.)
To: AU72
"What makes an astronaut crack? "
Depends.
Ouch. That's funny, I don't care who you are!
6
posted on
02/09/2007 9:27:18 AM PST
by
brownsfan
(It's not a war on terror... it's a war with islam.)
To: Fitzcarraldo
What makes an astronaut crack? An ass-teroid ?
7
posted on
02/09/2007 9:27:22 AM PST
by
clamper1797
(What's black and brown and looks good on a lawyer ... a pair of Doberman's)
To: Fitzcarraldo
But being charged with assault, attempted kidnapping and attempted murder is far greater than anything I ever observed or imagined could occur. Why? They're just astronauts, for cripes' sake, not Trappist monks.
8
posted on
02/09/2007 9:28:09 AM PST
by
IronJack
(=)
To: Fitzcarraldo
What makes an astronaut crack?
A nuatcracker?
9
posted on
02/09/2007 9:28:11 AM PST
by
OSHA
(Sarcasm detector overload!)
To: AU72
10
posted on
02/09/2007 9:28:44 AM PST
by
Hoosier-Daddy
(It's a fight to the death with Democrats.)
To: AU72
Thank you! That made me laugh out loud!
Neal
11
posted on
02/09/2007 9:29:03 AM PST
by
HossB86
To: Fitzcarraldo
What made her crack was that bunny-suit photo of Kerry.
12
posted on
02/09/2007 9:29:30 AM PST
by
kromike
To: Fitzcarraldo
What makes an astronaut crack?
A Naut Cracker?
13
posted on
02/09/2007 9:29:32 AM PST
by
HEY4QDEMS
(Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.)
To: Fitzcarraldo
Probably got put on SSRIs recently.
14
posted on
02/09/2007 9:29:53 AM PST
by
Seruzawa
(Marx's Das Kapital never could compete with the Sears catalog.)
To: Fitzcarraldo
Maybe I've missed it on topics about this subject, but I get a chuckle out of my co-workers for coming up with a name for this phenomenon. Like USPS workers "going postal", I call this "going lunar". It works for describing the behavior of some people once a month, as well!
To: HEY4QDEMS
Beatcha! (But I like your tagline!)
16
posted on
02/09/2007 9:30:57 AM PST
by
OSHA
(Sarcasm detector overload!)
To: Fitzcarraldo
a right cheek on one side and a left cheek on the other.
To: AU72
What makes an astronaut crack?
Extremely high atmospheric pressure?
18
posted on
02/09/2007 9:33:03 AM PST
by
reagan_fanatic
(Every time a jihadist dies, an angel gets its wings.)
To: AU72
"What makes an astronaut crack?
Depends"
You owe me a new keyboard and monitor!
19
posted on
02/09/2007 9:34:35 AM PST
by
bk1000
(A clear conscience is a sure sign of a poor memory)
To: AU72
Sometimes the crack explains itself.
20
posted on
02/09/2007 9:34:55 AM PST
by
Old Professer
(The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
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