NASA Administrator Says Independent Commission Report Was Senasational

Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator, is commenting at a press conference about the astronaut alcohol allegations reported by the independent Commission on astronaut health. (I'm liveblogging it). He's saying that those allegations were serious and sensational. He used the word "sensational" twice.

Griffin also is very clear that the thinks the allegations in the Commission report are untrue. He says NASA has looked back at 20 years of experimental data and his conclusion is that there never has been an incident of alcohol abuse that caused anyone to think an astronaut was unfit to fly.

The interesting thing about the whistleblowers to the Commission is that they were promised anonymity and their names can't be shared with NASA.

Griffin is saying those anonymous whistle blowers are lying.

OK, he just said "sensational" three more times.

That's sort of sensationalism by him, in my opinion. He's dismissing that part of the report. The Commission, by the way, was chock full of distinguished professionals (NASA requested the empaneling of the Commission.)

The investigation that NASA did in follow-up to the Commission report was an open format. The lead investigator looked at 20 years of reports and did 90 in-person interviews (not everyone that could have been involved in the alleged crew incidents, but representatives of crew personnel.) There is going to be an anonymous survey in September to get additional information that will inform the investigation.

To be honest, that was what I was expecting today - results of anonymous surveys.

Griffin comes off as defensive of NASA, and that is probably his role. But, his answers and demeanor don't entirely lay the matter to rest.

(read the independent commission's report and NASA's investigation report at the bottom of this msnbc.com article.)

UPDATE: Yikes. I guess I missed this part of the press conference (I tuned in late), where Griffin gives his assessment of the two reports about alcohol:

Administrator Griffin said that, in his opinion, “the story did not occur.” He compared the claims to past tales about poisoned Halloween candy.

“There is a Web site for urban legends — go look it up,” Griffin told reporters. “There are quite a number of things out there that are cited that are not true. This is one of them.”

I think we are in liar, liar, pants on fire territory with those remarks.