What makes an astronaut crack?

LA Times ^ | February 9, 2007 | Homer Hickam

[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.

[Fitzcarraldo]

HOMER HICKAM is the author of "Rocket Boys/October Sky," "The Keeper's Son" and many other books.

[AU72]

What makes an astronaut crack?

Depends.

[IrishMike]

Love or Lust

Lust or Love

[ikka]

I don't think it was crack, it was meth.

[rlmorel]

I don't know...space suit pants that don't come up high enough to cover it when they bend over?

[brownsfan]

"What makes an astronaut crack? "

Depends.


Ouch. That's funny, I don't care who you are!

[clamper1797]

What makes an astronaut crack?

An ass-teroid ?

[IronJack]

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.

[OSHA]

What makes an astronaut crack?

A nuatcracker?

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Very Good!

[HossB86]

Thank you! That made me laugh out loud!

Neal

[kromike]

What made her crack was that bunny-suit photo of Kerry.

[HEY4QDEMS]

What makes an astronaut crack?

A Naut Cracker?

[Seruzawa]

Probably got put on SSRIs recently.

[hunter112]

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!

[OSHA]

Beatcha! (But I like your tagline!)

[mrmargaritaville]

a right cheek on one side and a left cheek on the other.

[reagan_fanatic]

What makes an astronaut crack?

Extremely high atmospheric pressure?

[bk1000]

"What makes an astronaut crack?

Depends"

You owe me a new keyboard and monitor!

[Old Professer]

Sometimes the crack explains itself.

[Uri’el-2012]

Probably got put on SSRIs recently.

14 posted on 02/09/2007 10:29:53 AM MST by Seruzawa

BINGO on the SSRIs

[MeanWestTexan]

"What makes an astronaut crack?"


Apparently, her crack.

[MeanWestTexan]

"What makes an astronaut crack?"

The right stuff?

[WV Mountain Mama]

What makes an astronaut crack?

Reentry?

[Tax-chick]

How interesting. I didn't know he was still alive.

This is quite a good article, and his observations about astronauts can apply to many other careers. People with impressive accomplishments are not necessarily more emotionally stable than Wal-mart cashiers, and some are going to "go astro" in a difficult job situation.

If nothing else, his proposal to eliminate many of the "astronaut" positions would reduce the likelihood of an astronaut flip-out, simply on a numerical basis!

[PBRSTREETGANG]

What makes an astronaut crack?

The same things that make plumbers crack.

[Mears]

What make ANYONE crack?

It happens !

[N. Theknow]

After being weightless, they come crashing back to earth reality and become morose over the huge weight gain.

[doctor noe]

When they crack a tooth biting into one of those space food sticks?

[jude24]

Probably got put on SSRIs recently.

Doubt it. I know the USAF won't let you fly if you are on SSRIs, or any other anti-depressants. I would be suprised if either NASA or the Navy did either.

[Scotswife]

Why does this have to have anything to do with her job?

What if she had become a high powered lawyer? Or doctor?
Would she have "cracked" then?

I think so...because this is an issue of character and her type of personality.
She couldn't stand to lose - and she wasn't GOING to lose.

[Tax-chick]

I agree with you completely. I think this woman might well have detonated no matter what her occupation was. Of course, if she hadn't been an astronaut, it probably wouldn't have made the national news.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

I don't know what makes an astronaut crack. But here's what they need when they do:

[Fitzcarraldo]

[Young Werther]

"What makes an Astronaut Crack?"

Answer from "The Right Stuff":

"My name...Jose Jimenez!"

[Fitzcarraldo]

Dark Star Trailer

[mikrofon]

What makes an astronaut crack?

A suitable subject, a sense of irony, and timing...

[NonValueAdded]

Rocket Boys bump

[Professional Engineer]

Klingons around...

[Grizzled Bear]

Sometimes the crack explains itself.
_____________________________________________________

But then you would be talkin' outcher @$$!

[Wolfie]

Too much Tang. Or not enough.

[utahagen]

I think this article is interesting in that it gives insight into how one becomes an astronaut. However, I disagree with the article's premise that Nowak cracked because of pressure. This woman is NUTS and would have cracked in time in any profession. She was passed over for ten years? Do you know how many people in various professions feel they've been passed over? Life is filled with stress for most people and the idea this story says anything about NASA is just silly. The New York Post got it right: Nowak is a "crazed moonbat". Not very scientific, but sometimes the simple explanation is the accurate one.

[Scotswife]

"I agree with you completely. I think this woman might well have detonated no matter what her occupation was. Of course, if she hadn't been an astronaut, it probably wouldn't have made the national news."

The diapers would have put her on the news.
Of course - if she weren't an astronaut, she probably wouldn't have worn diapers.

[Revolting cat!]

Is there a DEPENDS PING LIST we can use to notify all interested in this subject?

[billbears]

But why did Nowak have to endure 10 years of scrutiny and constant competition with her fellow astronauts before she got to fly? The fact is, there are too many astronauts (more than 125) and not enough opportunities to fly.

More decades old space buses for everybody!! Everybody should get a chance to ride into space on old technology. It's only 'fair'...

Does it make sense to have this many overachievers all walking on eggs, vying for such a limited number of slots? Only in a dysfunctional bureaucracy like NASA's astronaut office, which keeps hiring more astronauts than it needs

Wha..wha...what? NASA has a dysfunctional bureaucracy within it? Nah, couldn't be.

What made her crack? Don't know, don't care. But she did it on my dime (and literally billions of other wasted dimes). The only thing I see the author suggesting here is shuffling around deck chairs on a bureaucratic behemoth that is falling behind the times so that everyone working there 'feels' better.

[Fitzcarraldo]

[Fitzcarraldo]

ping

[Fitzcarraldo]

ping

[annelizly]

the big question is why would a woman who is accomplished and intelligent(which you HAVE to be to be an astronaut) would throw it all away on an ugly guy and a trailer trash love triangle??

is no one immune???

[Texas_shutterbug]

Oh, gee, one of the most brilliant woman I knew was an engineer. It just so happens that her husband was an engineer for NASA.

She was a total fruitcake.