msnbc.com: Do astronauts and alcohol mix?
Jim Oberg
COSMIC LOG, by Alan Boyle // MSNBC.com
. Jan. 17, 2006 | 7:15 p.m. ET
Do astronauts and alcohol mix?
There's another round of news reports from Russia about the prospects for
bringing alcoholic beverages aboard the international space station - with
an article in London's Sunday Telegraph leading the way. This time, the head
of the cosmonaut corps at Russia's space training center is quoted as saying
he'd let station residents sip about half a shot of cognac to celebrate New
Year's or the end of a spacewalk.
Russian space officials are reportedly of the view that a little nip would
help cosmonauts relax after a tough job - and could even "replenish one's
strength." But champagne would remain a no-no, because the pressurized
contents of a bottle could gum up the works in zero-gravity.
NASA, meanwhile, is sticking to its view that astronauts and alcohol should
not mix. Reading between the lines, it appears that the Russians are giving
an unofficial wink and a nod to an occasional drink, much as they did for
operations on the long-gone Mir space station. Just don't expect to see NASA
astronauts joining in the toasts.
In an e-mail, NBC News space analyst James Oberg said the Russians' reported
stance "only endorses the unofficial practice in place for decades." As
proof, he sent along a 1997 photo from Mir, accompanied by a drinking tale:
"As early as the mid-1980s, crews received treats on supply drones that
included brandy-filled chocolates. The most famous 'space cognac' affair was
in February 1997, aboard Mir, after a flash fire nearly killed the six
crewmen (including American Jerry Linenger).
"That evening, space doctors instructed the crew to get out the secret
bottle of cognac and take medicinal doses. Linenger declined, but
photographed the others. The interesting angle is that the men drank the
cognac through a straw.
"NASA refused to release the photographs, but I filed FOIA on them and got
the images. One of them appeared in my 2002 book, 'Star-Crossed Orbits:
Inside the U.S.-Russian Space Alliance.' That image is attached."
Are NASA officials just being nervous Nellies? What do you see as the pros
and cons for alcoholic beverages (or other indulgences) in space? Let me
know , and I'll pass along a selection of the feedback.
photo: Cosmonauts gather to have some cognac on the Mir space station in
1997, hours after a flash fire nearly killed them. The picture was taken by
NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger, who passed up the opportunity to imbibe.
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060117/060117_alcohol_hmed_3p.hlarge.jpg
Pat Flannery
Jim Oberg wrote:
>In an e-mail, NBC News space analyst James Oberg said the Russians' reported
>stance "only endorses the unofficial practice in place for decades." As
>proof, he sent along a 1997 photo from Mir, accompanied by a drinking tale:
>
> "As early as the mid-1980s, crews received treats on supply drones that
>included brandy-filled chocolates. The most famous 'space cognac' affair was
>in February 1997, aboard Mir, after a flash fire nearly killed the six
>crewmen (including American Jerry Linenger).
>
> "That evening, space doctors instructed the crew to get out the secret
>bottle of cognac and take medicinal doses. Linenger declined, but
>photographed the others. The interesting angle is that the men drank the
>cognac through a straw.
>
>
I always wondered where those reports of the giant yellow worms behind
the Mir equipment panels came from:
http://www.anomalist.com/reports/mir.html
I am now beginning to develop a theory about a possible connection here.
;-)
Komar and Melamid did a painting about alcohol and stuff like this
happening: http://www.manovich.net/LNM_SITE_NEW/lnm/lnm4/komar_big.gif
Pat
mike flugennock
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10880338/#060117a
>
> COSMIC LOG, by Alan Boyle // MSNBC.com
>
> . Jan. 17, 2006 | 7:15 p.m. ET
> Do astronauts and alcohol mix?
>
> There's another round of news reports from Russia about the prospects for
> bringing alcoholic beverages aboard the international space station - with
> an article in London's Sunday Telegraph leading the way. This time, the head
> of the cosmonaut corps at Russia's space training center is quoted as saying
> he'd let station residents sip about half a shot of cognac to celebrate New
> Year's or the end of a spacewalk.
Well, hell; why not, if you have a Designated Pilot? If you can work out
a policy which keeps one crewman not drinking while his pal chills out
after another one of those all-day EVAs, I mean, why not? Maybe for
special occasions -- Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's Eve, crewmens'
birthdays, Yuri Gagarin's birthday -- you could relax the rule and let
both of them grab a snort (except you'd have to figure out when local
midnight is for that New Year's toast).
Iirc, the Americans were the only Allied troops in WWII who didn't get a
liquor ration -- at least as I recall from Bill Mauldin's memoir "the
Brass Ring".
>
> NASA, meanwhile, is sticking to its view that astronauts and alcohol should
> not mix.
Well, I guess it's official: there's nobody left at NASA over thirty. (;^>
--
.
"Though I could not caution all, I yet may warn a few:
Don't lend your hand to raise no flag atop no ship of fools!"
--grateful dead.
_______________________________________________________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
"Mikey'zine": dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org
Ten Quidado
"Jim Oberg" <james...@houston.rr.com> wrote in message
news:D4lzf.17663$SD1....@tornado.texas.rr.com...
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10880338/#060117a
>
> COSMIC LOG, by Alan Boyle // MSNBC.com
>
> . Jan. 17, 2006 | 7:15 p.m. ET
> Do astronauts and alcohol mix?
It's worked before. I've always believed that Pete Conrad snuck a small
bottle up to Skylab.
Henry Spencer
mike flugennock <flvg3...@stinkers.org> wrote:
>> NASA, meanwhile, is sticking to its view that astronauts and alcohol should
>> not mix.
>
>Well, I guess it's official: there's nobody left at NASA over thirty. (;^>
Nah, they've always been like this. Remember how they had a fit when
John Young sneaked the corned-beef sandwich into Gemini 3?
In Ken Money's recent talk on biomedical aspects of spaceflight (see the
s.s.h thread on spacesickness), he said that whenever he tries to raise
the psychological issues of sex in a mixed crew on a Mars expedition, NASA
just doesn't want to hear about it -- they're terrified that the press
might get wind of such a discussion.
(I dimly recall reading an account by one of the guys on the first Skylab
crew, roughly: "We were told we had an allocation of a hundred-odd pounds
for 'recreational materials'. After NASA rejected our unanimous first
suggestion...")
--
spsystems.net is temporarily off the air; | Henry Spencer
mail to henry at zoo.utoronto.ca instead. | he...@spsystems.net
Jochem Huhmann
> Are NASA officials just being nervous Nellies? What do you see as the pros
> and cons for alcoholic beverages (or other indulgences) in space? Let me
> know , and I'll pass along a selection of the feedback.
Seriously, recently there have been some studies successfully using THC
(as in marijuana) and MDMA (as in the drug known as Extasy) for
minimizing post-traumatic stress. I have little doubt that small doses
of alcohol can have similar effects.
Jochem
--
"A designer knows he has arrived at perfection not when there is no
longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
jonathan
"Jim Oberg" <james...@houston.rr.com> wrote in message
news:D4lzf.17663$SD1....@tornado.texas.rr.com...
If they can be trusted with a space ship, they can be trusted
with a bottle. It seems only our country has a thing about
this. I googled submarines and alcohol, and the Brits allow
beer and alcohol on subs, but we don't.
The Euros sent all their Puritans to us long ago.
That must be it.
Greg D. Moore (Strider)
"Henry Spencer" <he...@spsystems.net> wrote in message
news:ItApA...@spsystems.net...
> In article <2784d$43ce4fc8$4366619c$22...@msgid.meganewsservers.com>,
> mike flugennock <flvg3...@stinkers.org> wrote:
>
> In Ken Money's recent talk on biomedical aspects of spaceflight (see the
> s.s.h thread on spacesickness), he said that whenever he tries to raise
> the psychological issues of sex in a mixed crew on a Mars expedition, NASA
> just doesn't want to hear about it -- they're terrified that the press
> might get wind of such a discussion.
And unfortunately the press is right. The US is getting more and more
uptight over everything.
John Doe
went ahead anyways.
It will try to prevent alchool on the station, but the russians will
still go ahead. The only caveat is that the crew will make sure that US
cameras are turned off while they enjoy a good cognac in front of the
fireplace after a long cold EVA.
I can see the $$$ potential though. Imagine a picture of crewmembers
holding a bottle of Grand Marnier and toasting while in front of a
laptop with a fireplace screesaver displayed. Would make for great
advertising back on earth. And the money might help the russians spruce
up their segment. (The real challenge would be to fill the cognac
glasses so that the picture would look good).
In terms of the other activity alluded to, once crew comes back to 3,
the russians could simply select a married couple as their crew members
during a rotation that has 2 russian crewmembers. The americans coudn't
say/complain about the obvious because the russians wouldn't mention it.
And if asked by the media, the russians simply need to state that what
crew members do during their off hours isn't monitored and all crew
members are given some privacy and ask the reporters if their employers
monitor what they do in their hotel rooms at night.
Derek Lyons
>I googled submarines and alcohol, and the Brits allow
>beer and alcohol on subs, but we don't.
Only in port and only to the guys not in the duty section and only one
can per man per day. (And while in America, they buy American beer to
restock - they complain mightily about the taste, but that doesn't
stop them from drinking it.)
D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.
-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL
jonathan
"Derek Lyons" <fair...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:43d630da....@news.supernews.com...
> "jonathan" <Wr...@Instead.com> wrote:
>
> >I googled submarines and alcohol, and the Brits allow
> >beer and alcohol on subs, but we don't.
>
> Only in port and only to the guys not in the duty section and only one
> can per man per day. (And while in America, they buy American beer to
> restock - they complain mightily about the taste, but that doesn't
> stop them from drinking it.)
Ya mean they don't like Pabst and Schiltz? Go figure~
Henry Spencer
Greg D. Moore \(Strider\) <mooregr_d...@greenms.com> wrote:
>> the psychological issues of sex in a mixed crew on a Mars expedition, NASA
>> just doesn't want to hear about it -- they're terrified that the press
>> might get wind of such a discussion.
>
>And unfortunately the press is right. The US is getting more and more
>uptight over everything.
Not the US populace as a whole, I don't think. There are some uptight
factions which are noisier and more influential than they used to be,
but they remain a minority.
Mary Pegg
> In terms of the other activity alluded to, once crew comes back to 3,
> the russians could simply select a married couple as their crew members
How many married couples amongst the various astronaut corps are there?
(And how many unmarried?)
Scott Hedrick
"mike flugennock" <flvg3...@stinkers.org> wrote in message
news:2784d$43ce4fc8$4366619c$22...@msgid.meganewsservers.com...
> Iirc, the Americans were the only Allied troops in WWII who didn't get a
> liquor ration
So, when it came to booze, then, they were irrational...
Kevin Willoughby
james...@houston.rr.com says...
> NASA, meanwhile, is sticking to its view that astronauts and alcohol should
> not mix.
Has NASA forgotten that NASA Management (Slayton) placed a celebration
nip on board for the crew of Apollo 8?
--
Kevin Willoughby kevinwi...@acm.org.invalid
In this country, we produce more students with university degrees
in sports management than we do in engineering. - Dean Kamen
Julian Bordas
> "Derek Lyons" <fair...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:43d630da....@news.supernews.com...
>
>>"jonathan" <Wr...@Instead.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I googled submarines and alcohol, and the Brits allow
>>>beer and alcohol on subs, but we don't.
>>
>>Only in port and only to the guys not in the duty section and only one
>>can per man per day. (And while in America, they buy American beer to
>>restock - they complain mightily about the taste, but that doesn't
>>stop them from drinking it.)
>
>
>
> Ya mean they don't like Pabst and Schiltz? Go figure~
>
Schiltz, the beer that came out faster than it went in.
>
--
Julian Bordas
Rockets should land on their tails
as God and Heinlein intended
Julian Bordas
Greg D. Moore (Strider)
"Kevin Willoughby" <KevinWi...@acm.org.invalid> wrote in message
news:MPG.1e38d6ad4...@news.rcn.com...
> In article <D4lzf.17663$SD1....@tornado.texas.rr.com>,
> james...@houston.rr.com says...
> > NASA, meanwhile, is sticking to its view that astronauts and alcohol
should
> > not mix.
>
> Has NASA forgotten that NASA Management (Slayton) placed a celebration
> nip on board for the crew of Apollo 8?
Probably not. But because of the reading of Genesis flap on that mission
NASA became very gunshy.. And I believe the presence of the alcohol also
came out.
When Buzz Aldrin sipped sacremental wine on the surface of the Moon,
everyone kept mum.
Greg D. Moore (Strider)
> In article <yWEzf.2632$vU2....@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
> Greg D. Moore \(Strider\) <mooregr_d...@greenms.com> wrote:
> >> the psychological issues of sex in a mixed crew on a Mars expedition,
NASA
> >> just doesn't want to hear about it -- they're terrified that the press
> >> might get wind of such a discussion.
> >
> >And unfortunately the press is right. The US is getting more and more
> >uptight over everything.
>
> Not the US populace as a whole, I don't think. There are some uptight
> factions which are noisier and more influential than they used to be,
> but they remain a minority.
Yes. They remain a minority, but one that seems to hold an awful lot of
power.
Pat Flannery
Scott Hedrick wrote:
Germans didn't get much- standard ration was only .026 quarts of wine
per day, and that only in summer.
That's about enough to wash your mouth out with.
Pat
Pat Flannery
Julian Bordas wrote:
>
> Schiltz, the beer that came out faster than it went in.
My favorite economy beer at the moment is Leinenkugel. Strangely, I
prefer standard Leinenkugel to their more expensive varieties.
Pat
hal...@aol.com
shutle?
some must have coupled up by now:)
Terrell Miller
"Julian Bordas" <jules...@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message
news:43d04da6$1...@news.iprimus.com.au...
>> Ya mean they don't like Pabst and Schiltz? Go figure~
>>
>
> Schiltz, the beer that came out faster than it went in.
Shaeffer: The Beer To Have When You're Having More Than One
my favorite rugby beer: Dixie, for $2.25 a six in any Louisiana pharmacy :)
--
Terrell Miller
mill...@bellsouth.net
"If Pop is a basket of kittens, and Punk a snarky little terrier, modern
Prog is the giant squid beast that eats them all"
-Entertainment Weekly
Dave Michelson
> most of all I hope and pray shuttle doesnt kill again
Bob,
You're a very complicated person.
--
Dave Michelson
da...@ece.ubc.ca
Pat Flannery
Terrell Miller wrote:
>Shaeffer: The Beer To Have When You're Having More Than One
>
>my favorite rugby beer: Dixie, for $2.25 a six in any Louisiana pharmacy :)
>
>
We can't get Dixie up here, which is a shame as it tastes great. (it's
aged in cypress barrels)
It also gets a very good score here:
http://www.mylifeisbeer.com/beer/bottles/bottledetail/140/
Pat
K, T, E & N
just not answer any questions about smoking or alcohol and just repeat the
same hog wash over and over instead of admitting that the American
astronauts DO smoke on ISS and DO drink alcoholic beverages - they've even
made Jell-O shooters up there with Vodka.
Is it any wonder that the American public doesn't *believe* reports from any
governmental agency????
Dale
>hal...@aol.com wrote:
>> how many married couples or couples in general have flown on the
>> shutle?
>>
>> some must have coupled up by now:)
>
> > most of all I hope and pray shuttle doesnt kill again
>
>Bob,
>
>You're a very complicated person.
LOL :)
Sex on a shuttle flight is dangerous :)
Dale
Scott Hedrick
"Dave Michelson" <da...@ece.ubc.ca> wrote in message
news:JbvAf.415108$ki.154975@pd7tw2no...
> hal...@aol.com wrote:
> > most of all I hope and pray shuttle doesnt kill again
>
> Bob,
>
> You're a very complicated person.
No, just not smart enough to do more than load paper into copiers. If he
*were*more than functionally literate, he'd know how to spell and use
punctuation and to do his homework before exposing his ignorance to the
world.
Ami Silberman
"Pat Flannery" <fla...@daktel.com> wrote in message
news:11t305k...@corp.supernews.com...
>
> My favorite economy beer at the moment is Leinenkugel. Strangely, I prefer
> standard Leinenkugel to their more expensive varieties.
>
>
> Pat
Have you had their Bock? Back when I lived in Illinois, you could only get
it for about a two-week period in the Spring...
Ami Silberman
>
in measured doses, and it isn't prone to make a mess in zero-G.
Jeff Findley
"Ami Silberman" <sil...@mitre.org> wrote in message
news:droggl$s5c$1...@newslocal.mitre.org...
I had some Jell-O and Vodka shooters over the weekend. It's always an
interesting sensation when cold Jell-O shooters burn on the way down. ;-)
Jeff
--
Remove icky phrase from email address to get a valid address.
Pat Flannery
Ami Silberman wrote:
>Have you had their Bock? Back when I lived in Illinois, you could only get
>it for about a two-week period in the Spring...
>
>
>
I've had their Bock beer, and both a (male) friend and I thought it
tasted familiar.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Leinenkugel Bock we had
tasted like pussy.
This could be a whole new possibility for their advertising, and the
brand may make big inroads in the lesbian bar scene.
"Leinenkugel Bock- Snatch One Now!"
Pat