Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Joseph Basile — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:46:03 GMT

Phew, glad that didn't take too long.

So Alan, think you can convince NBC to run a top story about the truth of all this?

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

S C M Denver-ish CO — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 02:28:55 GMT

I knew that 'report' was a pile of BS from the first second I heard of it. The astronauts are monitored for at least 24 hours, please correct me if I am wrong, prior to launch. There is no way any of them could be drunk before a flight. What an embarassment for the JA who compiled that 'report' I hope NASA drops the hammer on him.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

margaret Heekin — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 03:30:25 GMT

Someone is always throwning eggs at greatness. i call it "crabs in a bucket". Carry on.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Michael Kent ohio — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 03:47:02 GMT

What I hate is that a rumor gets spread,and people read it and believe it. If it turns out wrong,after being repeated for weeks or months,there MIGHT be a retraction on page 7 next to the obituaries and an article on how a local kid helped raise money for a his classes ski trip. Years later,people are still repeating the false rumor as if it were true.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Bruce Howe Richmond, VA — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 03:52:44 GMT

Since is not a peer reviewed article, why would MSNBC publish it? I would love a VALID answer. As your science editors well know. Or do you not employ scientific editors? Or just editors. Bruce

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Alan Boyle — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:25:25 GMT

Bruce, are you referring to the independent panel's report? That's a public record, it doesn't follow the rules of peer review. Even if we're talking about research reports (which this is not), we may publish something that has not been peer-reviewed, based on news value. My title may be science editor - but we're in the news business, not the academic journal business. Hope this helps. :-)

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Andy DeKalb, Il — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:35:33 GMT

That's the ticket, if NASA says so, it must be true.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Stephen Pacheco, Westerly RI — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:54:57 GMT

Alan, just because someone produces a report does not mean that you are obliged to reprint it. If something seems to be false or unlikely on cursory inspection then I think reports should attempt to verify first; spreading false information does have a bad side effect; you "can't unring the bell"!

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Max, Oberkail, De — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 11:32:46 GMT

I've always "heard" that once the O2 is ventilating the lungs, the effects of alcohol drops like a rock in the big blue sea. I remember see many a Red Flag aviator-type being literally poured into the cockpit and within in a few minutes of breathing "fresh air" they were sober as a Nun. Seems like a visit to the Doctor is in order on this one.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Jose Otaola, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:08:47 GMT

No need to peer-review. Only ethics. Facts make into news. If you do not have a fact you do not have news. If you create news without facts, then you have a problem. This is the case.
Jos'e

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Fred — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:22:42 GMT

Report 1 says, "they were drunk" and report 2 says, "We found no evidence that they were drunk". Why believe either one?

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Jason, Globe, AZ — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:43:03 GMT

Sadly, I fear the damage has been done. People always remember the bad and will discount any follow-up truths as conspiracy or government lies. In fact, lots of people will probably use this new report as "proof" that the astronauts were drunk. I hate conspiracy theorists.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Jeremy, East Greenbush, NY — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:46:34 GMT

My POV - even if it were true, who cares? Flying those HAS to be scary and a little liquid courage wouldn't hurt if it was true. However, I agree with Alan Bean - I don't think anyone would just not notice and let it slide. I'm sorry that anyone found the foolish rumor hurtful.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Darrell Messbarger — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:00:05 GMT

If intelligence has anything, whatsoever, to do with the selection of astronauts, ask yourself - would you sit on top of a gozillion gallons of highly explosive fuel, and risk your life, and everyone else on board, by drinking before a mission. Doesnt' make a hell of a lot of sense. Personally, I would want to be on the very top of my game.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Rick Beale — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:04:09 GMT

"we may publish something that has not been peer-reviewed, based on news value"

Slanderous, baseless propaganda is apparently no problem for the fact-free Fourth Estate. Publish nonsense - as long as it sells, it has "news value".

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

san benito, texas — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:27:14 GMT

I woluld also encourage the astronaut corps to mention on shows like "The Tonight Show" and such show to first say that they have seen no drinking before a space flight.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Mongo Lloyd, Lost in Space — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:18:37 GMT

Greatness? I remember watching Columbia take off, and then the initial reports of the wing strike. I told my girlfriend, "They better spacewalk out and check it, or they will burn up on re-entry". Then came the management denials. I again told my girlfriend that the ship would burn up on re-entry, because of a bad decision. We all know what happened next.

NASA is far from great. Like any large bureaucracy, the structure of NASA is littered with little fiefdoms... managed by people who I wouldn't let wash my car. It's time to cut NASA's budget. A better use of the money would be to get us to the point where we are energy independent, with a form of power that will not kill our planet. Once we can clean up OUR OWN BACKYARD... then we should reach for the stars. What is the point of reaching for the stars, when we will not have a world to live on, because we have killed it with abuses since the start of the industrial revolution?

NASA isn't great. They are a great diversion.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

bill kamps, houston, tx — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:42:04 GMT

While it appears that drinking was not going on as originally reported, I think Alan Bean's response is pretty similar to what I would expect from an airline pilot or copilot, and we know there have been incidents of airline pilots flying under the influence.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Alan Boyle — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:38:44 GMT

For me, the term "peer-reviewed" relates to sending research to other scientists in the field. It's an academic term, and I was thrown by the use of the term in reference to a non-academic subject. We don't send our reports to, for example, an NYU media critic or CNN editors for review.

But if you're talking about "editor-reviewed" - that is, edited - yes, of course that's the case. Come on in to MSNBC's newsroom here in the Seattle area and I'll show you around and introduce you to my editors so you can see we're real people and not evil wraiths. ;-)

I don't agree with the view that "slanderous, baseless propaganda is apparently no problem for the fact-free Fourth Estate." The truth is the most important thing, but nowadays the truth is not handed down like holy writ. Facts have to be brought out, examined and tested, as the report released today makes clear. And as with most stories, some of the facts in this case may never come to public light. We just have to do the best we can to get at the truth, often having to start with incomplete information.

To some extent, it is like the scientific process. But it's not usually like the peer-reviewed, months-long process that is the norm for scientific publishing (although sometimes it can seem that way).

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Anonymous and scared — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 21:48:28 GMT

Of course NASA said that they couldn't find any proof. If any person had proof that this certain astronaut flew drunk, that person would be fired and blacklisted for life. They would never get a job in this industry again. Do any of you trust ANYTHING that your management tells you?

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

steve smyth lynn ma — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:19:07 GMT

the early guys were test pilots...they drank like rowdy guys drank in those days...hard, fast, and often...corvettes in the desert...untested jets...spaceships...what's the difference?...who else were they going to get to sit there in a tin can, over which they had no control, while guys on the ground lit the candle?
if astronauts got aboard drunk, every single support person on the ground knew...it's kinda hard to cover booze breath while someone is right in your face for hours before boarding...getting checklists ready, and suiting up...c'mon, Kids...who gives a damn?...
you get aboard one of those things sober!
nattering nabobs of negativity...
ol' Spiro T was good for some things...drunk as he was...they were all shitfaced every waking second of every single day.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

CE — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:54:24 GMT

And here this story was the lead on the nightly news. I thought it didn't sound right and there were certainly other more important stories to cover.

Alcohol claims go flat at NASA

Frank Glover — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:09:20 GMT

"My POV - even if it were true, who cares? Flying those HAS to be scary and a little liquid courage wouldn't hurt if it was true."

Well...if it was your spaceship and there was no one under you, that might be one thing. But as Maverick was reminded in the film 'Top Gun,' "It's not your airplane, it's the taxpayers' airplane!"

And sadly, the public has an endless appetite for scandals among the celebrated, in general.

Thus the concern, even if it was, as it seems, unfounded.