Nightscrawlers

Did you guys hear about that astronaut who tried to kill another woman just because she thought the other woman was a rival for the attention of another guy?

Not even stopping for bathroom breaks.

Okay, in the article it says that these people are normal people, and I understand she was recently divorced from her husband of 19 years. But I still think NASA should do a thorough psychological evaluation on their employees after such traumatic events such as divorce.

Police later found a knife, rubbish bags, air gun, steel mallet, rubber tubing, gloves, $600 in cash in Nowak's car and in a bag she had tossed into a trash can in the parking lot.

Stable, well-adjusted people don't do that. I think she should go to a pysh facility and not jail. She needs help.

Sheesh. You sure are right NASA should do a psych evaluation before sending them up there... that broad is nuts.

But here's what I don't get...why is it NASA's fault? You can only do so much as a company - you can't scan every joe for everything under the sun...its just not practical.

And this was off the job, so its not up to them at all. I don't get why its reflecting on them so much.

Paws

Well, NASA picks these people, so their choice go nuts and attempts murder? Not looking so good to the people who chose the people to be astronauts. It's a high honor, so people should act accordingly. Not go batshit...ah well. People are only human, after all. but, it just boggled my mind.

Originally posted by JSherlock
Well, NASA picks these people, so their choice go nuts and attempts murder? Not looking so good to the people who chose the people to be astronauts. It's a high honor, so people should act accordingly. Not go batshit...ah well. People are only human, after all. but, it just boggled my mind.

But don't they pick them based on professional qualifications? The idea of astronauts as "heros" is just cause they need public support for funding, so they glamour it up.

The woman is nuts, but it doesn't really reflect badly on her job. She probably did a great job, considering she'd already been up once and they were planning on sending her up again.

Originally posted by The Drastic Spastic

Originally posted by JSherlock
Well, NASA picks these people, so their choice go nuts and attempts murder? Not looking so good to the people who chose the people to be astronauts. It's a high honor, so people should act accordingly. Not go batshit...ah well. People are only human, after all. but, it just boggled my mind.

But don't they pick them based on professional qualifications? The idea of astronauts as "heros" is just cause they need public support for funding, so they glamour it up.

The woman is nuts, but it doesn't really reflect badly on her job. She probably did a great job, considering she'd already been up once and they were planning on sending her up again.

True. Hmm. I suck at putting my thoughts into orderly words. I think NASA should have been more involved with following up with her after her divorce after 14 years - I think they should have taken better care of their own. Of course, I don't know all the details, and I hope she gets to go to space again, after all this has died down.

But I guess press is press, and maybe more people will be interested in space again?

I don't quite get where NASA's responsibility is with that however...would we suggest the same accountability in a judge? In an elected official? In a teacher? These people are more of a 'danger' in their job positions than a woman that gets shot off into space.

And the same goes into them providing support, IMHO. However - not all may feel the same way I do. I see this as more of a 'celebrity' thing where its all dissected because she is viewed as this 'elite' person. That is merely public perception though...it doesn't mean that these people are any less fallible, or should be treated different than the majority of society.

Definitely, I agree, these are normal people, with normal stresses. I thought that the government, army, space programs, etc, were a little more involved in their employee's lives. I wish she'd gotten help sooner, definitely. I feel rather sorry for her and her family.

Certainly. It's never fun when someone goes and does something like that. The damage is so widespread.