Grounded for Life
NASA finally made the expulsion of Lisa Nowak official, by ending her temporary duty with the agency and sending her back to the US Navy. Time will tell if the Navy takes any kind action against her in the military justice system.
At the same time, her former partner in the astro-love-triangle, Bill Oefelein, appears to be getting off without punishment. This is a dirty shame, as it appears that Oefelein and Nowak had an adulterous relationship that probably ended their respective marriages.
As best I can tell, military astronauts on temporary duty with NASA are still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That means they can be court-martialed for adultery. While adultery prosecutions are rare (and are usually pursued only after a 'no-contact' order from a commander,) I have little tolerance for it, and it gives NASA and the Navy a legal avenue to wipe off the scourge of those two space-cadets.
If a person betrays the spouse that he/she has pledged his/her life to, what does it say about the cheater's character? I wouldn't trust the assclown with a space shuttle, that's for certain.
Some may say that NASA is employing a double-standard here, although Lisa Nowak clearly crossed a line with her bizarre (and potentially murderous) assault on the Captain who entered the sordid soap-opera. But I will say that NASA has grounded astronauts for far more trivial things than the current scandal (Deke Slayton's "heart murmur," the Apollo 7 "rebellion," and the Apollo 15 postage stamp scandal, for instance.) With so many rookie astronauts chomping at the bit for a flight on the shuttle or Orion, there's no way that a numb-nut like Bill Oefelein should be allowed to fly in space again.
At the same time, her former partner in the astro-love-triangle, Bill Oefelein, appears to be getting off without punishment. This is a dirty shame, as it appears that Oefelein and Nowak had an adulterous relationship that probably ended their respective marriages.
As best I can tell, military astronauts on temporary duty with NASA are still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That means they can be court-martialed for adultery. While adultery prosecutions are rare (and are usually pursued only after a 'no-contact' order from a commander,) I have little tolerance for it, and it gives NASA and the Navy a legal avenue to wipe off the scourge of those two space-cadets.
If a person betrays the spouse that he/she has pledged his/her life to, what does it say about the cheater's character? I wouldn't trust the assclown with a space shuttle, that's for certain.
Some may say that NASA is employing a double-standard here, although Lisa Nowak clearly crossed a line with her bizarre (and potentially murderous) assault on the Captain who entered the sordid soap-opera. But I will say that NASA has grounded astronauts for far more trivial things than the current scandal (Deke Slayton's "heart murmur," the Apollo 7 "rebellion," and the Apollo 15 postage stamp scandal, for instance.) With so many rookie astronauts chomping at the bit for a flight on the shuttle or Orion, there's no way that a numb-nut like Bill Oefelein should be allowed to fly in space again.
posted by Mr. X at
7:35 PM
