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FROM LI-LO TO LOST IN SPACE. Geez, is nothing sacred? Apparently not, reports the AP:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At least twice, astronauts were allowed to fly after flight surgeons and other astronauts warned they were so drunk they posed a flight-safety risk, an aviation weekly reported Thursday, citing a special panel studying astronaut health.In the astronauts' defense, I should say that the prospect of being violently propelled off the planet on a rocket might cause a reasonable person to want a drink beforehand, and it's not like there have ever been any Space Shuttle fender benders.*The independent panel also found "heavy use of alcohol" before launch that was within the standard 12-hour "bottle-to-throttle" rule, according to Aviation Week & Space Technology, which reported the finding on its Web site...
The panel was created following the arrest in February of former space shuttle flier Lisa Nowak, who was implicated in a love triangle.
*Those space disasters have occured have been due to mechanical and administrative, rather than drink-induced, failures.
--Garance Franke-Ruta
