Problems at NASA

via Fox News, a number of troubling issues at the space agency.

First, there is an unsubstantiated report from Aviation Week magazine that astronauts have twice flown spacecraft after drinking to the point of intoxication. Secondly, there is a confirmed report of a subcontractor sabotaging a computer being sent to the ISS. All of this comes on the heels of the shootings in Houston by a worker that committed suicide, and the strange romatic triangle case of astronaut Lisa Nowak and the freak storm the delayed the shiuttle launch earlier this summer. Bad times for the agency, to be sure.

"America's space agency was shaken Thursday by two startling and unrelated reports: One involved claims that astronauts were drunk before flying. The other was news from NASA itself that a worker had sabotaged a computer set for delivery to the international space station. It was just another jolt for an operation that has had a rocky year from the start, beginning with the arrest of an astronaut accused of attacking a rival in a love triangle."

Just as with any other organization, a few irresponsible or troubled individuals can cause almost irrepairable damage to the reputations and public image of that organization and the many fine people that simply show up to work and do the jobs correctly. The recent issue with "Scott Thomas" and the US Army is just another example like we find in the NASA case. Unfortunate, but true. Hopefully both NASA and the Army investigate and take the necessary corrective actions quickly.