NASA May Add Mental Exams for Astronauts

CAPE CANAVERAL — NASA does not conduct psychological evaluations of its astronauts but will reconsider that policy following the apparent meltdown of Lisa Nowak, charged with attempted murder in Florida, agency officials said Wednesday.

During the application process, prospective astronauts are subjected to rigorous, hourslong examinations by psychiatrists and psychologists, according to top NASA health officials.

But once astronauts join the corps — before and after their stressful, perilous missions into space — they are pretty much on their own.

Astronauts are evaluated annually by flight surgeons who can refer them to psychologists, but they are not routinely examined by mental-health specialists.

Nowak, who returned from her first mission on July 17, was charged Tuesday in Orlando with attempted first-degree murder in an alleged love triangle involving another astronaut and an Air Force captain. So did NASA fail her?

"No, there’s not that sense," NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale said during a news conference broadcast from Washington to every NASA facility in the country. "I think we were all taken by surprise by the events that transpired in Florida.

"Having said that, we want to go back and make sure. Is there something we missed along the way? Can we make improvements related to psychological care, medical screening? Any lessons learned or things that can be improved?"

TWO REVIEWS

Dale said agency officials ordered two parallel reviews — one by NASA experts and one by outsiders — to determine if changes should be made.

Nowak, 43, returned to Houston early Wednesday and underwent an undisclosed form of medical screening at the Johnson Space Center. Her parents are in the area and will care for her, NASA said.

The agency also said that astronaut William Oefelein, the object of Nowak’s apparent affection, had been in Florida but was flying to Houston.

Air Force officer Colleen Shipman, whom police say Nowak threatened early Monday at Orlando’s airport, did not return to her duplex town house near the Atlantic Ocean in Cape Canaveral.

‘HARD-WORKING’

NASA officials said Nowak worked at the space center as recently as last week and showed no obvious sign of emotional distress.

"Lisa is a vibrant, hard-working, energetic person who did her job extremely well," said Robert Cabana, a former astronaut who serves as deputy director of the Johnson Space Center. "She was a team player and dedicated to what she did."

She had been scheduled to serve as a Houston-based shuttle communicator during the March flight of Atlantis but has been relieved of her duties and placed on 30-day leave, NASA said.

Cabana said he did not believe stress levels in the astronaut corps were necessarily higher than in "other, high-stress organizations" and said counseling or other assistance was available to anyone who requested it.

"As in any group, sometimes things get missed, but I think the general feeling in the corps is that we look out for each other," he said.

Asked if astronauts would be stigmatized by a request for emotional counseling, Cabana said: "There’s no stigma to it. It’s part of normal life."

Story Musgrave, NASA’s most experienced former astronaut, said he never was offered a mental-health evaluation during his 30 years of service.

"There’s no psychological exam before or after a flight," said Musgrave, who retired in 1997 at 62 after six missions.

"But you have flight surgeons who are very good," he said. "You have a psychiatrist on site, and NASA is extraordinarily supportive of you."

So what happened to Nowak?

"You have to conclude, if you look at her gorgeous record of human performance over the years, something just had to have snapped," Musgrave said, "and that’s a reason I feel so bad about it."