US:The US space agency Nasa let astronauts fly drunk on at least two occasions, an independent panel said in a report released yesterday. 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 or the Russian Soyuz spaceship.
Nasa officials let them fly even after flight surgeons and fellow astronauts raised concerns that flight safety might be jeopardised, according to the report. The panel, which prepared the report, was created by Nasa after the arrest of astronaut Lisa Nowak in February on charges she tried to kidnap her rival in a love triangle.
Meanwhile, Nasa also revealed that it is investigating sabotage of a non-critical computer due to be flown to the International Space Station aboard the shuttle Endeavour, which was cleared to fly on August 7th. The damage to wiring was intentional and obvious, Nasa's Bill Gerstenmaier told reporters at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Nasa found cut cables inside the electronics box, which was being prepared to be loaded into Endeavour for transport to the $100 billion space station. Nasa was told of the sabotage by a subcontractor, which Mr Gerstenmaier declined to identify, citing an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General. - (Reuters, AP)