NASA Fires Astronaut

davidwr writes "In an unprecedented move for an unprecedented situation, NASA has fired now-former astronaut Lisa Nowack. She is facing charges of attempted kidnapping related to an incident earlier this year. Ms. Nowack is a Navy officer and remains so."

Has anyone tried

[Normal Dan]

listening to her side of the story?

nah

[User 956]

In an unprecedented move for an unprecedented situation, NASA has fired now-former astronaut Lisa Nowack.

It's not completely unprecedented. They fired the Challenger crew. I guess they just couldn't keep it together.

Re:nah

[Exsam]

Too soon man, too soon.

Re:Has anyone tried

[Brett Buck]

Yes, I agree. I would certainly like to know the perfectly rational reason for driving 900 miles in diapers, and then tracking down and pepper-spraying someone you have never met, in an airport parking lot.

        Brett

Re:Diapers saving time?

[Astral Jung]

Apparently, you've not seen very many gas station restrooms.

Re:Has anyone tried

[Normal Dan]

That "someone" put her through a lot of needless emotional pain. Perhpas that "someone" will now think twice before so carelessly hurting others, thus making this world a better place for all. Some might even say Lisa is a hero among heros.

As for the diapers. Well, that is so you can drive non stop. Duh.

See? It is all perfectly rational.

Re:Diapers saving time?

[__aaclcg7560]

Astronauts use rocket fuel in their cars. It's an explosive blend with great mileage.

NASA's shuttle replacement?

[dacut]

Oefelein told investigators he and Nowak both served on the bicycling team at NASA... Man, I know NASA is strapped for cash, but bicycles?

Re:Has anyone tried

[sehlat]

Minimum sanity standards for officers? Good Lord, man, why not minimum sanity standards for the Commander in Chief?

Oh, wait...

Re:Has anyone tried

[Brett Buck]

You know what I blame this on the breakdown of? Society. [/Syzlak]

      Brett

Re:Diapers saving time?

[Marko DeBeeste]

Hadn't heard about the soiled part. My thought is some kind of organic brain problem (stroke, tumor, etc.) She profile's out as too smart and confident a person with a robust history. In terms of cognitive (in this case delusional) issues, the best predictor of what will happen is what has happened.

Either that or the guy is hung like a coal-mine mule.

Re:Has anyone tried

[MightyMartian]

I'm sure she can become a professional pundit:

"You know, Larry, before I went completely blitzo, drove 900 miles in diapers to kill my would-be boyfriend's love interest, I too believed that Mormons didn't buy nearly enough Elton John records."

Only on slashdot.....

[Chineseyes]

Only on slashdot would you have someone question the logic of a nutcase wearing diapers in order to avoid taking bathroom breaks.

+5 Awesome

[User 956]

I find that it's the "Flamebait" mod that changes it from "wrong but funny" to "wrong but hilarous".

Yeah, I guess some people are still pretty broken up over the whole Challenger thing.

Re:+5 Awesome

[Penguinshit]

It blew their minds...

Re:+5 Awesome

[User 956]

It blew their minds...

Yeah, those were the days when spaceflight was really booming.

Re:Diapers saving time?

[sn00ker]

took about 10 minutes to pee

Say what?! I don't take 10 minutes to lay a cable, never mind take a leak. Seriously, if your bladder was so large that you needed 10 minutes to empty it (including all the attendant activity) you could easily drive for 10 hours without having to stop. I've gone seven hours and 1.2L of water before it became a case of "Next rest stop, or a tree!", and that stop was still well below 10 minutes.

Your calculations may be being generous, to be sure, but 10 minutes is excessive. Five would be closer to the truth in all but extreme cases. Particularly since I don't know anyone who would willingly linger in a petrol station bathroom!

Re:Has anyone tried

[Kozar_The_Malignant]

The diaper thing makes me think she'd be pushing George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic records rather than Elton.

Not just any bicycles

[patio11]

They're custom-made from Lockheed Martin, spent 8 years in development each at a cost of $650 million, use military-grade titanium frames and have wheels made up of 65,000 tiny sheets of vulcanized rubber which are handmade and then painstakingly knit together to best resist wear-and-tear with the road. They're only used for serious scientific business, like carrying a mouse in the basket to see what the physiological changes are to a mouse riding a bicycle. It was determined that the changes are rather similar to what a mouse experiences in low-gravity: not much, and if you give him cheese he really couldn't care less.

Plans to retest using a hamster and sunflower seeds were scrapped after the bike was totaled in a training accident. (A NASA bicycle rider on loan from the Air Force attempted to take the bicycle over a 3 inch curb, which should have been within the 5 inch tolerance level of the suspension. Unfortunately, one of NASA's subcontractors designed for 5 cm tolerance level instead, and after the suspension exceeded tolerance it folded like only a $600 million can can.)

NASA is now submitting a proposal for a better, more expensive bicycle to continue their important scientific mission. $1 billion is slated for testing the suspension under a variety of stressful conditions, and as much as $2.50 is slated for experimental apparati for measuring the responses of the hamster.

Not unrelated at all...

[JacksBrokenCode]

Should you get fired from your cashiers job just because you got fined for speeding?

Better question: Would you let somebody with obvious mental instability babysit your $1.3 billion kid?

Re:Diapers saving time?

[Anonymous Coward]

Say what?! I don't take 10 minutes to lay a cable

"That's for damn sure." - Mrs. Cable

Pampers, bitches.

[LibertineR]

The chick was sporting Pampers when NASA officially endorses Depends.

She had to go. Were it the NBA, they could have just fined her, or sent her to rehab, but.....

Unprecedented?

[Starburnt]

NASA has fired astronauts before, people. Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia... all "fired" for various reasons. /...17 in the ashtray

Re:Who's "Nowack"?

[Shawn Parr]

Do you find that life is frustrating living as a prik?

There, fixed that for you. :)

Re:Not unrelated at all...

[StikyPad]

If you gave me $1.3 billion for my kid, I might consider it.

Re:Why is this odd?

[StikyPad]

She is technically on lone from the Navy

I believe you meant, "one loon from the Navy."

I for one...

[glittalogik]

...welcome the new 'diaper' tag, and look forward to seeing it used more often on /.

Re:Has anyone tried

[Anonymous Coward]

> How many people piss their pants in diapers
> when they drive so they do not have to pull over?

Astronauts.

Re:Has anyone tried

[ozmanjusri]

Otherwise, we end up with two classes of humans: can't control emotions but excusable; can't control emotions but inexcusable

Well Duh!.

I don't know what planet you're from Sparky, but here on Earth, we call them "women" and "men"

/me ducks and runs....

Define strange behaviour

[warm sushi]

"I'd imagine that it takes very little in the way of strange behavior to disqualify a person for astronaut duty"

Like wanting to be blasted into space in an outdated craft stuck on top of a giant fuel tank?

Re:Has anyone tried

[senatorpjt]

How many people wear diapers when they drive so they do not have to pull over?

I dunno, but I'm a guy, so I just piss in an empty Snapple bottle.

Re:Unprecedented?

[Anonymous Coward]

Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia... all "fired"

You're going to hell. You know that, right?

Re:Unprecedented?

[Starburnt]

I sure hope so. They have better music down there.