NASA: No Drunken Astronauts

Earlier this summer, reports circulated that some astronauts over the years had flown while under the influence of alcohol. As those reports named no names or specific missions, NASA went through all its records for every flight over the past 20 years and found no evidence supporting such charges.

Of course, NASA finding no evidence of astronaut wrongdoing could be suspect in the eyes of some people. One of the reports stated that an unnamed American astronaut had flown in a Russian Soyuz to the ISS after drinking alcohol. A few days later, as reported in this blog, a spokesman for the Russian space agency and a cosmonaut both denied any such thing had ever happened. Again, some wouldn't be convinced.

There is an interesting point in this story concerning how journalism in America can operate. The national television networks were enthralled covering the space program in the 1960s, but for years, network news has largely ignored NASA-- even while NASA missuins were transforming our understanding of the Solar System and the universe-- except when something went wrong. There has certainly been little to no systematic coverage of NASA in recent years by ABC, CBS, or NBC. Along comes a story about inebriated astronauts that gives no names, no mission designation, and no verifiable facts-- and it makes at least one of the network nightly news broadcasts.

That seems an interesting way for journalists to approach keeping the public informed.