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From: gamorris@lescsse.uucp (Gary A. Morris)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: married astronauts to fly together?
Message-ID: <1991Feb5.231553.827@lescsse.uucp>
Date: 5 Feb 91 23:15:53 GMT
References: <1991Feb1.223556.2313@infonode.ingr.com>
Organization: Lockheed Engineering and Sciences
Lines: 29

In <1991Feb1.223556.2313@infonode.ingr.com> drudetb@infonode.ingr.com (Ted B. Drude) writes:

>>A much more likely source of trouble than the psychiatrists is management
>>worried about the reaction from the religious Right.  It is not an accident
>>that none of the married couples has ever flown together.

>Oh really? That means NASA has deliberately kept married astronauts from
>being on the same flight before,  right?  Do you have any objective
>source for this or are you just blowing some weird biased smoke out of
>your own brain?

There is not an official written policy that married astronauts may not
fly together, however, past practice has been to not allow it.  It is a
judgement made by the people doing crew selection, not a formal policy. 
I have part of this heard this before from one of the married astronauts
and have just reconfirmed it with Jeff Carr of the astronaut office at
JSC.  Jeff also said they are considering whether a formal policy is
necessary and what, if anything, should be done in regards to Mark and
Jan's flight.  He said the main concern with allowing a married couple
on the same flight is orphans.

I sure hope one of them doesn't lose the chance to fly just because they
are married.
--GaryM
-- 
Gary Morris                    Internet: lescsse!gamorris@menudo.uh.edu
Lockheed, Houston, Texas       UUCP:     lobster!lescsse!gamorris
Space Station Freedom          Internet: gmorris@nasamail.nasa.gov
N5QWC/W5RRR                    Phone:    +1 713 283 5195