From the dawn of the US space program, astronauts have been treated like heroes and indoctrinated in NASA's can-do, failure-is-not-an-option ethos.
Could that explain the downfall of Lisa Nowak, the astronaut accused of attempted murder?
Experts say the same traits that make astronauts such high achievers can combine to aggravate emotional problems and strain relationships.
"I really believe that NASA goes overboard in promoting how heroic and super all these people are," said Patricia Santy, a former NASA psychiatrist and author of the book Choosing the Right Stuff.
Santy said the astronaut corps is "like a family, but it's almost like a dysfunctional family when it comes to understanding that these interpersonal issues have profound impacts."
Former astronaut Jerry Linenger said astronauts take pride in self-discipline, "and you set a goal and it's just going, going, going and you let nothing get in your way."
That reminds Linenger of Nowak's drive from Houston to Orlando, Florida, to confront an Air Force captain who she allegedly believed was involved with the space shuttle pilot she loved.
However, Linenger said, that's when Nowak's training should have kicked in and led her to reflect on her actions: "To not make a midcourse correction is scary. It's just off her training and everything else."
"The biggest problem that every astronaut has had once they've obtained their goal is: `What do I do next, what do I focus on?'" said Jay Barbree, a longtime NBC correspondent.
Among earlier astronauts, "most every one of them came back had adjustment issues," Barbree said.
NASA flight crew operations chief Ellen Ochoa said the agency is considering whether to do more to look after astronauts once they return from space.
Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step on the moon, later became depressed and had problems with alcohol.
Aldrin said there is no good system to support astronauts after their spaceflight days are over: "Nobody is helping them readjust."
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
China yesterday held a low-key memorial ceremony for the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not attending, despite a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan. Beijing has raged at Tokyo since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last month said that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Japan. China and Japan have long sparred over their painful history. China consistently reminds its people of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, in which it says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then its capital. A post-World War II Allied tribunal put the death toll
A passerby could hear the cacophony from miles away in the Argentine capital, the unmistakable sound of 2,397 dogs barking — and breaking the unofficial world record for the largest-ever gathering of golden retrievers. Excitement pulsed through Bosques de Palermo, a sprawling park in Buenos Aires, as golden retriever-owners from all over Argentina transformed the park’s grassy expanse into a sea of bright yellow fur. Dog owners of all ages, their clothes covered in dog hair and stained with slobber, plopped down on picnic blankets with their beloved goldens to take in the surreal sight of so many other, exceptionally similar-looking ones.
‘UNWAVERING ALLIANCE’: The US Department of State said that China’s actions during military drills with Russia were not conducive to regional peace and stability The US on Tuesday criticized China over alleged radar deployments against Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise last week, while Tokyo and Seoul yesterday scrambled jets after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols near the two countries. The incidents came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan. “China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” a US Department of State spokesperson said late on Tuesday, referring to the radar incident. “The US-Japan alliance is stronger and more
RSS