On Wed, 07 Feb 2007 15:14:29 +0100, Mxsmanic wrote:

Just a textbook case of a psychotic break... Possibly schizophrenic
but I cannot make that diagnosis without more information...

I cannot speculate on her mental condition, except to say that I find it odd
that such extreme behavioral tendencies would not have been noticed in some
way as she entered the space program.

Historically, astronaut programs have absolutely loaded with monomaniacal,
driven personalities. When you look at the competition involved for the few
flight spots available, only the most focussed, goal-oriented fanatics succeed.
These people are attuned to win, and as revelation of the slightest flaw is
likely to get them pulled off the program, they're well attuned to hiding
problems. I'm not a psychiatrist, but it seems to me that a schizophrenic might
have ADVANTAGES in such an environment.

For good insight, read Mike Mullane's "Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a
Space Shuttle Astronaut." First, it's an absolute hoot. But it otherwise
provides a view into what it takes to make it to the top. The book begins with
his physical examination for the astronaut program. He's due for a proctologic
examination, and has been given instructions for a process to clean out his
system prior to the exam. He's heard another candidate got rejected because the
process was not thorough enough...thus Mullane goes through extraordinary steps
to ensure that his colonic system is practically shining by the time the doctor
takes a look. You'll be rolling on the floor as you read it...but you see what
it takes to make it into the astronaut program.

Mullane goes into great detail of what it takes to get selected for "Prime Crew"
(e.g., scheduled for a launch). The extreme jockeying and politics. The joy of
selection, the savage desperation as one is passed over, especially as the Prime
Crews are treated like kings as their big day approaches. The way every delay
is torture, and how every launch scrub is a wire-brushing of your psyche.

But then there's the launch. You're literally on top of the world. You can
call yourself an "Astronaut" without the mental wince at never having flown.
You have made it to a very exclusive fraternity; your name is indelibly
inscribed in this history books. You can strip every other patch off your
flying jacket...you've got the one that matters.

But what happens AFTER the Shuttle lands? From the top of the pyramid, you drop
to the bottom of the heap. You're no longer in lead position on the NASA web
page. You lose your reserved parking spot right at the entrance to the
building. They take your photo down from the lobby. You watch others take your
place as Prime Crew, getting the adulation and attention that fed you for
months. With the size of the astronaut corps and the low mission rate, you face
literally YEARS before fly again. And if you're a certain age, or perhaps
didn't handle your PR duties well enough, you aren't going to fly again.

What happens to these focussed individuals when the focus is gone? For ten
years, your whole life has been devoted to reaching 100 KM altitude. Once you
become a real, genuine astronaut, what next? After Nowak made her first flight
last July... what did she have in her life that could even come close to the
thrill, the ego-boost, of being "Prime Crew"?

We can be pretty sure that astronauts aren't the kinds of people who crack under
pressure... the selection process weeds these people out. But the RELEASE of
pressure can be just as damaging, and there's no real way to test for it. And I
suspect it's far more harmful to the types of individuals that make it into the
astronaut corps.

Ron Wanttaja