Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Can culture set up astronauts for failure?

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published February 9, 2007

WASHINGTON - From the dawn of the space program, America's astronauts have been treated like stars, saluted as red-white-and-blue 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? Were the expectations too high? The pressures too great?

No one may ever know exactly why Nowak drove 900 miles to confront a woman who was reportedly her rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot, but experts say the same traits that make astronauts 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 Choosing the Right Stuff.

"They themselves have forgotten these are ordinary people and in that kind of celebrity culture, there's a sense of entitlement."

Nowak, like many of her colleagues, pursued a career in spaceflight since childhood. Then, after her shuttle trip last summer, her goal had been achieved, and the prospects for another mission were dim.

Other astronauts have struggled with similar doubts about their future.

Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, became depressed and had problems with alcohol.

The space agency "can deal with the physics and engineering and the science of things," Aldrin said. "But you can't predict the human reaction and response and how complex it is. It is not easy for NASA."

Aldrin said there is no good system to support astronauts after their spaceflight days are over.

"Nobody is helping them readjust. It's hard for NASA to take on that responsibility.""

[Last modified February 9, 2007, 01:03:37]