Drunks... in... SPAAAAACE!
July 26, 2007 1:39 PM Subscribe
NASA has a rule requiring that astronauts go at least 12 hours between "bottle and throttle." Reports say not everyone followed it, and they went up anyway.
nothing surprises me about NASA anymore.
posted by mrmarley at 1:46 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by mrmarley at 1:46 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
Clearly they're the party government agency.
Cut their funding.
posted by Esoquo at 1:47 PM on July 26, 2007
Cut their funding.
posted by Esoquo at 1:47 PM on July 26, 2007
Sounds pretty fun. Is it really so dangerous? It's not like they're going to swerve and hit a tree or anything. Do the astronauts really do anything during the launch, or are they simply strapped down for the ride?
posted by SBMike at 1:48 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by SBMike at 1:48 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun.
Not whilst completely sloshed, mind you. I can't imagine it'd be fun to puke in your helmet. But a little buzzed?
ROCK AND ROLL!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
posted by craven_morhead at 1:52 PM on July 26, 2007
Not whilst completely sloshed, mind you. I can't imagine it'd be fun to puke in your helmet. But a little buzzed?
ROCK AND ROLL!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
posted by craven_morhead at 1:52 PM on July 26, 2007
Clearly they're the party government agency.
No, dude, that's the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
posted by nasreddin at 1:57 PM on July 26, 2007 [2 favorites]
No, dude, that's the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
posted by nasreddin at 1:57 PM on July 26, 2007 [2 favorites]
This helps explain Neil Armstrong flubbing his line.
posted by brain_drain at 1:58 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by brain_drain at 1:58 PM on July 26, 2007
that's the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
shit.
posted by nervousfritz at 2:00 PM on July 26, 2007
shit.
posted by nervousfritz at 2:00 PM on July 26, 2007
nothing surprises me about NASA anymore.
Yeah, I wanted to be an astronaut until I grew up and started getting close to the reality. Being an astronaut in the 21st century: it's tedious, repetitive, there's a bunch of paperwork, and then you strap yourself into a 25-year-old rattling loud rocketship that explodes half the time, and spend somewhere between a week and six months floating around being amazed at how beautiful it is while doing monotonous labwork. No one notices, and Earth, in general, remains ignorant of everything around it.
Oh, and you spend your time between LA, Houston, and Brevard County, Florida. You're fucking right I'd be drinking.
posted by blacklite at 2:10 PM on July 26, 2007 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I wanted to be an astronaut until I grew up and started getting close to the reality. Being an astronaut in the 21st century: it's tedious, repetitive, there's a bunch of paperwork, and then you strap yourself into a 25-year-old rattling loud rocketship that explodes half the time, and spend somewhere between a week and six months floating around being amazed at how beautiful it is while doing monotonous labwork. No one notices, and Earth, in general, remains ignorant of everything around it.
Oh, and you spend your time between LA, Houston, and Brevard County, Florida. You're fucking right I'd be drinking.
posted by blacklite at 2:10 PM on July 26, 2007 [3 favorites]
The linked article doesn't say how long ago the incidents were--even whether they were during the shuttle era or in earlier programs. Somehow, I wouldn't be very surprised to learn that that was common during the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo programs.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:13 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:13 PM on July 26, 2007
Clearly they're the party government agency.
No, dude, that's the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
Nonsense. Just imagine the buffet at the Food and Drug Administration.
posted by lekvar at 2:13 PM on July 26, 2007 [2 favorites]
No, dude, that's the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
Nonsense. Just imagine the buffet at the Food and Drug Administration.
posted by lekvar at 2:13 PM on July 26, 2007 [2 favorites]
nasreddin: That's the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. :-)
posted by allaboutgeorge at 2:19 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by allaboutgeorge at 2:19 PM on July 26, 2007
Whatever man, the Russians sent up their astronauts with pints of vodka in foil pouches. This is silliness.
posted by OldReliable at 2:20 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by OldReliable at 2:20 PM on July 26, 2007
Have you guys ever been in a Space Shuttle launch.... on weed?
posted by cobra_high_tigers at 2:22 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by cobra_high_tigers at 2:22 PM on July 26, 2007
Duuuude. This thing is fast, man.
Pull over dude, I gotta hurl.
posted by ninjew at 2:27 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
Pull over dude, I gotta hurl.
posted by ninjew at 2:27 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
1. flying a spaceship drunk = not good.
BUT
2. being able to successfully fly a spaceship while drunk = teh awesome.
posted by shmegegge at 2:37 PM on July 26, 2007
BUT
2. being able to successfully fly a spaceship while drunk = teh awesome.
posted by shmegegge at 2:37 PM on July 26, 2007
"You came here in that!? You're braver than I thought."
No, seriously. Tell me that I had a booked seat on either the Shuttle or a Soyuz and I'd probably wet myself. From anticipation.
Launch day? Pass the vodka, comrade.
As an aside, if I recall correctly NASA and the USAF has used both stimulants and tranquilizers for pilots on flight duty in a variety of situations.
Mercury? Are you kidding me? Those guys were test pilots. Most of them were the edgiest of the cream of the crop. They had to be to strap themselves in to an untested ballistic missile aimed at the sky. There are many well known tales of these guys getting entirely hammered at the bars near the Cape and then racing each other home and around the area in their (free) hopped up sports cars.
Whether or not they all flew stone sober, I don't know, but I'd guess that the 12 hour rule was bent pretty often to save flight schedules.
posted by loquacious at 2:58 PM on July 26, 2007
No, seriously. Tell me that I had a booked seat on either the Shuttle or a Soyuz and I'd probably wet myself. From anticipation.
Launch day? Pass the vodka, comrade.
As an aside, if I recall correctly NASA and the USAF has used both stimulants and tranquilizers for pilots on flight duty in a variety of situations.
Mercury? Are you kidding me? Those guys were test pilots. Most of them were the edgiest of the cream of the crop. They had to be to strap themselves in to an untested ballistic missile aimed at the sky. There are many well known tales of these guys getting entirely hammered at the bars near the Cape and then racing each other home and around the area in their (free) hopped up sports cars.
Whether or not they all flew stone sober, I don't know, but I'd guess that the 12 hour rule was bent pretty often to save flight schedules.
posted by loquacious at 2:58 PM on July 26, 2007
I wanna know who's gotten busy on the Space Shuttle -- boy/boy, boy/girl, masturbation. Spill it, NASA!
posted by bardic at 3:10 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by bardic at 3:10 PM on July 26, 2007
What goes on in the Space Station? surely the Russians have vodka on board.
posted by rtaylor111 at 3:20 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by rtaylor111 at 3:20 PM on July 26, 2007
What goes on in the Space Station?
...Stays on the Space Station.
posted by lekvar at 3:40 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
...Stays on the Space Station.
posted by lekvar at 3:40 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
If I were getting strapped in atop of a pile of explosive material whose safety record is more or less "uhh...it hasn't failed yet...much...", damn right I wouldn't want to be sober either.
posted by casarkos at 3:56 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by casarkos at 3:56 PM on July 26, 2007
Regular old astronautin' seems like a pretty good time, but astronautin' with a decent buzz on has to be close to the absolute pinnacle of human experience.
posted by thatswherebatslive at 4:02 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by thatswherebatslive at 4:02 PM on July 26, 2007
"It's o.k. man, if there is one thing I know it's how to drive when I'm stoned! It's like you know your perception is completely fucked, so you just let your hands work the controls as if you are straight!"
- Aliens flying spaceship in Heavy Metal
posted by quin at 4:02 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
- Aliens flying spaceship in Heavy Metal
posted by quin at 4:02 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
It's wierd, I kinda picture these 'naughts as the most boring people on / off earth. And then I find out they get blitzed the night before leaving the planet. Suddenly they're human again. Good for them, all the hard work is being done by the nerds at Houston anyway. If they want to take off with a stinking hangover then get yer thrust on...
posted by brautigan at 4:03 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by brautigan at 4:03 PM on July 26, 2007
What goes on in the Space Station?
...Stays on the Space Station. except laptop
posted by hortense at 4:21 PM on July 26, 2007
...Stays on the Space Station. except laptop
posted by hortense at 4:21 PM on July 26, 2007
ground control to major tom
ground control to major tom
whoa buddy, you need to slow down and get some coffee in you!
posted by bruce at 4:24 PM on July 26, 2007
ground control to major tom
whoa buddy, you need to slow down and get some coffee in you!
posted by bruce at 4:24 PM on July 26, 2007
I wanna know who's gotten busy on the Space Shuttle -- boy/boy, boy/girl, masturbation. Spill it, NASA!
I find your lack of zero-g girl/girl action disturbing.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:27 PM on July 26, 2007
I find your lack of zero-g girl/girl action disturbing.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:27 PM on July 26, 2007
Stupid NASA teetotalers. Russian cosmonauts had vodka and cognac on Mir, but since the new station is a joint project the Americans have insisted that the ISS remain dry.
posted by quartzcity at 5:35 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by quartzcity at 5:35 PM on July 26, 2007
Zero hour nine a.m.
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
posted by Smedleyman at 6:06 PM on July 26, 2007
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
posted by Smedleyman at 6:06 PM on July 26, 2007
I wanna know who's gotten busy on the Space Shuttle
Dude, that's like the 200 Mile High Club.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:21 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
Dude, that's like the 200 Mile High Club.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:21 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
It's hard to believe that these people train for years and get to fly maybe once every two years, and then they have an opportunity on a half-billion dollar mission and they can't manage to stay sober for 12 hours before launch. Makes you wonder about their screening system for a mission to Mars.
posted by JackFlash at 8:40 PM on July 26, 2007
posted by JackFlash at 8:40 PM on July 26, 2007
No one has brought up Depends....
On another note, I can only imagine that in zero-gravity, unless one has a free fall safe/locked container to capture ejaculate, that male masturbation would be a bit hazardous for the living area. Unless one has a fetish for floaties...
posted by msjen at 10:46 PM on July 26, 2007
On another note, I can only imagine that in zero-gravity, unless one has a free fall safe/locked container to capture ejaculate, that male masturbation would be a bit hazardous for the living area. Unless one has a fetish for floaties...
posted by msjen at 10:46 PM on July 26, 2007
OK, I was a student pilot flying Cessna 152's back in the early 90's. And I swear our rule was 24 hours bottle-to-throttle. This 12-hour rule for flying billion-dollar machines built from taxpayers' money kind of bothers me, you know.
posted by greasepig at 6:29 AM on July 27, 2007
posted by greasepig at 6:29 AM on July 27, 2007
The 12 hour rule is a military tradition, which is where most of the astronauts come from.
posted by NortonDC at 1:31 PM on July 27, 2007
posted by NortonDC at 1:31 PM on July 27, 2007
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posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:46 PM on July 26, 2007 [2 favorites]