Thursday, August 30, 2007

Drunk in charge of a Space Shuttle

There have a few reports recently about allegations that some Space Shuttle astronauts weren't 100% sober when they launched. If they had been drinking, is it any wonder?

If I was sitting in a vessel that was attached to a giant firework, knowing that over a dozen of my colleagues had been killed in on-board explosions, I think I'd need a swift one before take-off.

Senator John Glenn - the first American to orbit the Earth - was once asked how he felt as he sat on the launch pad waiting for lift-off. He replied:

'I felt as good as anyone would, sitting in a capsule on top of a rocket that were both built by the lowest bidder.'

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2 comments:

  1. Laban6:13 pm

    American astronaut Gordon Cooper managed to fall asleep during the countdown - which worried mission control, as they couldn't work out what had happened to him.

    The incident is described in Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Steerforth8:32 pm

    I shall make sure I read it.

    ReplyDelete