Report Says NASA Let Astronauts Fly Drunk

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) _ NASA let astronauts fly drunk on at least two occasions, an independent panel said in a report released Friday. <br/><br/>The report gave no names and did not say when the drinking

Friday, July 27th 2007, 11:32 am

By: News On 6

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) _ NASA let astronauts fly drunk on at least two occasions, an independent panel said in a report released Friday.

The report gave no names and did not say when the drinking occurred, how many astronauts were involved, or whether they were flying on the space shuttle, the Russian Soyuz spaceship, or aboard NASA's training airplanes.

NASA officials let them fly even after flight surgeons and fellow astronauts raised concerns that flight safety might be jeopardized, according to the report, done by a panel created by NASA after the arrest of astronaut Lisa Nowak in February on charges she tried to kidnap her rival in a love triangle.

In a statement Friday, NASA said the panel has not given the space agency details of the allegations. ``As a result, NASA must independently determine the facts of the reported incidents,'' the space agency said.

The panel said that astronauts and flight surgeons told the committee about heavy drinking by crew members just before flights. Also, the panel said alcohol is freely used in the crew quarters, where astronauts are quarantined at the Kennedy Space Center in the three days before launch.

Only three paragraphs of the 12-page report dealt with alcohol use by astronauts.