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One the one hand it's sad, on the other hand I understand why they did it. Astronauts are, for better or worse, the public face and PR of NASA, which is a an a

One the one hand it's sad, on the other hand I understand why they did it. Astronauts are, for better or worse, the public face and PR of NASA, which is a an agency subject to social and political winds of the times, but has for the most part placed itself apolitically and kept astronauts as heroes that both sides can agree on (as long as we can forget a short period where adult diapers where in the public consciousness). The thing that makes it such and achievement (that it's a select group of exceptional people) is also the thing that puts extra expectations on how you can act or what you can be involved in. It might be better if it were not that way, but the reality is that astronauts are not chosen based on skill and capability alone.

inopinatus 5y ago
Perhaps they're chosen for their ability to cuss like a sailor in the cockpit? (John Young and Gene Cernan both served in the navy) https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day1-pt2-earthorbit-rev1.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day1-pt2-earthorbit... Thomas Stafford drops plenty of F-bombs in the Apollo–Soyuz mission transcripts too, which are faithfully recorded in the NASA archives for posterity.
- bumby 5y ago
  I like these stories, but I think this is more a hallmark of a bygone era. If I remember correctly, the average age of NASA during Apollo was mid-twenties. Now (at least in certain orgs within the agency) it’s nearly double that
  - lupire 5y ago
    During Apollo, twenty somethings used far less crude language in public than peoplw due now.
- kbenson 5y ago
  Not a lot you can do once they're already in space, yeah? I bet you there was some PR person at NASA cussing them out when they heard/saw those too. As for being faithfully archived, well we already have enough moon landing conspiracists without giving them more "evidence" of stuff being hidden during space missions.
- toomanybeersies 5y ago
  The Apollo 10 transcripts are an absolute gem. During lunar orbit, they discovered a rogue poop floating in the cabin [1]: > Stafford: Who did it? (Laughter) > Cernan: Where did that come from? > Stafford: Give me a napkin quick, there's a turd floating through the air. > Young: I didn't do it. It ain't one of mine. > Cernan: I don't think it's one of mine. > Stafford: Mine was a little more sticky than that. Throw that away. > Young: God almighty. > Stafford: What do you see? > Young: Nothing, that's enough for me. > Cernan: Yes. > Young: Nice going there. > Cernan: No more turds are going to fit in there. > Stafford: Is that waste compartment full? > Young: No, hell; there's nothing in there. > Cernan: It goes all the way down to the... > Cernan: Hell, when I got in there, I had to stick my hand in there and [garble] - He put it in the bag, didn't he? You guys been trying to stick it through there with your fingers? A few more choice quotes [2]: > Stafford: [Garble] about that ascent stage. You know that? [Garble] son of a bitch [garble] screwed, you know? But that son of a bitch - John? > Young: [Garble] burn [garble] God. What the hell is this shit? What? What is that crap those things [garble]? [Garble] putting my [garble]. > Young: Oh, what a life, being a spaceman. Wish I could have been a professor or something. John Young was also the star of another great moment in NASA history, when he smuggled a corned beef sandwich onboard Gemini III [3]: > Grissom: What is that? > Young: Corn beef sandwich > Grissom: Where did that come from? > Young: I brought it with me. Let's see how it tastes. Smells, doesn't it? > Grissom: Yes, it's breaking up. I'm going to stick it in my pocket. > Young: Is it? It was a thought, anyway. > Grissom: Yep > Young: Not a very good one. > Grissom: Pretty good, though, if it would just hold together. [1] https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt28.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt28.html [2] https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt27.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt27.html [3] https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/GT03_TEC.PDF https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/hist... (page 45)
  - effingwewt 5y ago
    Oh my God I'm crying! I had no idea these even existed, thanks for the reading material.
throwaway0a5e 5y ago
>Astronauts are, for better or worse, the public face and PR of NASA, which is a an agency subject to social and political winds of the times, And having someone with the demeanor of Cardi B on the team would be bad for their PR mission how?
- kbenson 5y ago
  Because they've always marketed astronauts as paragons of virtue and skill, and something that any parent would be happy to have their child strive for. As soon as any one of them behaves in a way that any of those parents may disagree with, they're dirtying that public image in the eyes of some. NASA is obviously acutely aware of how precarious their funding often is, so walks a fine line in an attempt to make the only critique against them purely budgetary and not political. Like it or not, showing too much personality allows one side or the other to start positioning you as a piece for or against their agenda (and of course the other side will take the opposite stance), making it a political issue even if it's ridiculous to think of it as so.
  - Talanes 5y ago
    >attempt to make the only critique against them purely budgetary and not political.they're dirtying that public image in the eyes of some. Yet they drew plenty of non-budgetary criticism for rescinding her internship, so it doesn't seem like that worked out for them.
    - PrincessJas 5y ago
      From twitter "people" lol.
bumby 5y ago
>Astronauts are, for better or worse, the public face and PR of NASA She was selected for a student internship, not for training in the astronaut corps
- kbenson 5y ago
  It's all related, and just a matter of magnitude. NASA is very specific about how they want their employees representing themselves when it reflects on the agency. I'm not saying it's justified, but I don't doubt they're overly cautious by nature and if they have a chance to remove a risk prior to any real investment, they're more likely to take that route.
  - bumby 5y ago
    It’s not really different than other companies outside of astronauts and some people working in, say, educational outreach. For the vast number of employees, there’s no sort of restrictions or even discussions about what’s said outside of the legal concerns (e.g., using NASA titles to convey a position of agency, Hatch act, etc.) The real mistake here is was made by a potential intern who was not yet hired. It’s like making a mistake on probation, you likely have very little recourse. It’s completely different for regular civilian employees

inopinatus 5y ago

Perhaps they're chosen for their ability to cuss like a sailor in the cockpit? (John Young and Gene Cernan both served in the navy) https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day1-pt2-earthorbit-rev1.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day1-pt2-earthorbit... Thomas Stafford drops plenty of F-bombs in the Apollo–Soyuz mission transcripts too, which are faithfully recorded in the NASA archives for posterity.

bumby 5y ago
I like these stories, but I think this is more a hallmark of a bygone era. If I remember correctly, the average age of NASA during Apollo was mid-twenties. Now (at least in certain orgs within the agency) it’s nearly double that
- lupire 5y ago
  During Apollo, twenty somethings used far less crude language in public than peoplw due now.
kbenson 5y ago
Not a lot you can do once they're already in space, yeah? I bet you there was some PR person at NASA cussing them out when they heard/saw those too. As for being faithfully archived, well we already have enough moon landing conspiracists without giving them more "evidence" of stuff being hidden during space missions.
toomanybeersies 5y ago
The Apollo 10 transcripts are an absolute gem. During lunar orbit, they discovered a rogue poop floating in the cabin [1]: > Stafford: Who did it? (Laughter) > Cernan: Where did that come from? > Stafford: Give me a napkin quick, there's a turd floating through the air. > Young: I didn't do it. It ain't one of mine. > Cernan: I don't think it's one of mine. > Stafford: Mine was a little more sticky than that. Throw that away. > Young: God almighty. > Stafford: What do you see? > Young: Nothing, that's enough for me. > Cernan: Yes. > Young: Nice going there. > Cernan: No more turds are going to fit in there. > Stafford: Is that waste compartment full? > Young: No, hell; there's nothing in there. > Cernan: It goes all the way down to the... > Cernan: Hell, when I got in there, I had to stick my hand in there and [garble] - He put it in the bag, didn't he? You guys been trying to stick it through there with your fingers? A few more choice quotes [2]: > Stafford: [Garble] about that ascent stage. You know that? [Garble] son of a bitch [garble] screwed, you know? But that son of a bitch - John? > Young: [Garble] burn [garble] God. What the hell is this shit? What? What is that crap those things [garble]? [Garble] putting my [garble]. > Young: Oh, what a life, being a spaceman. Wish I could have been a professor or something. John Young was also the star of another great moment in NASA history, when he smuggled a corned beef sandwich onboard Gemini III [3]: > Grissom: What is that? > Young: Corn beef sandwich > Grissom: Where did that come from? > Young: I brought it with me. Let's see how it tastes. Smells, doesn't it? > Grissom: Yes, it's breaking up. I'm going to stick it in my pocket. > Young: Is it? It was a thought, anyway. > Grissom: Yep > Young: Not a very good one. > Grissom: Pretty good, though, if it would just hold together. [1] https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt28.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt28.html [2] https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt27.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt27.html [3] https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/GT03_TEC.PDF https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/hist... (page 45)
- effingwewt 5y ago
  Oh my God I'm crying! I had no idea these even existed, thanks for the reading material.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

>Astronauts are, for better or worse, the public face and PR of NASA, which is a an agency subject to social and political winds of the times, And having someone with the demeanor of Cardi B on the team would be bad for their PR mission how?

kbenson 5y ago
Because they've always marketed astronauts as paragons of virtue and skill, and something that any parent would be happy to have their child strive for. As soon as any one of them behaves in a way that any of those parents may disagree with, they're dirtying that public image in the eyes of some. NASA is obviously acutely aware of how precarious their funding often is, so walks a fine line in an attempt to make the only critique against them purely budgetary and not political. Like it or not, showing too much personality allows one side or the other to start positioning you as a piece for or against their agenda (and of course the other side will take the opposite stance), making it a political issue even if it's ridiculous to think of it as so.
- Talanes 5y ago
  >attempt to make the only critique against them purely budgetary and not political.they're dirtying that public image in the eyes of some. Yet they drew plenty of non-budgetary criticism for rescinding her internship, so it doesn't seem like that worked out for them.
  - PrincessJas 5y ago
    From twitter "people" lol.

bumby 5y ago

>Astronauts are, for better or worse, the public face and PR of NASA She was selected for a student internship, not for training in the astronaut corps

kbenson 5y ago
It's all related, and just a matter of magnitude. NASA is very specific about how they want their employees representing themselves when it reflects on the agency. I'm not saying it's justified, but I don't doubt they're overly cautious by nature and if they have a chance to remove a risk prior to any real investment, they're more likely to take that route.
- bumby 5y ago
  It’s not really different than other companies outside of astronauts and some people working in, say, educational outreach. For the vast number of employees, there’s no sort of restrictions or even discussions about what’s said outside of the legal concerns (e.g., using NASA titles to convey a position of agency, Hatch act, etc.) The real mistake here is was made by a potential intern who was not yet hired. It’s like making a mistake on probation, you likely have very little recourse. It’s completely different for regular civilian employees