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Quartz Story on Jeanette Epps
by
edkyle99
on 23 Jun, 2018 22:50
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Not sure if this is the right thread, or if it has been posted elsewhere. Quartz has an interview with Jeanette Epps, which touches on the "management decision" that pulled her from her planned ISS mission. She said, "[t]here was also a little anger", when talking about her reaction to the news during one answer. She says she still does not know why. The story notes that "Epps had no health issues, had passed all the training, and was cleared to fly."
https://qz.com/1312023/nasa-astronaut-jeanette-epps-talks-about-being-pulled-from-the-iss-mission/I have my own theory, but if I say it out loud this thread would probably be instantly locked. Suffice to say that Quartz touches on the theory, and that Epps herself said that she prefers not to speculate, which is good enough for me. This woman should be in space right now. I hope she will be in the future.
- Ed Kyle
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#1
by
MATTBLAK
on 24 Jun, 2018 00:08
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I agree with you, Ed and probably share your theory(s). I met her at the World Science Fiction Convention at Kansas City in 2016. My Wife and friend, Lawrence got to speak with her at length over that weekend. She is very nice and while not shy, is very reserved with a dry sense of humour. I was very disappointed for her when she was reassigned.
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#2
by
gongora
on 24 Jun, 2018 00:54
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Eric Berger wrote an article the other day:
After being pulled from a spaceflight in January, Jeanette Epps speaks upThere are ongoing investigations into the situation of Epps, who was selected to become an astronaut in 2009. What she does not explicitly state, but which is true, is that NASA's Johnson Space Center was responsible for selecting her as an astronaut, training her, and then decided she was competent to fly as an astronaut by assigning her to a mission. At some point after all of this, flight operations leaders decided that she should not fly. Epps said she expects to get some kind of closure from these investigations by the end of the summer.
From our independent reporting, we feel pretty confident that this was not a racial situation, nor something set down from NASA's administration or the White House. Rather, it was an internal decision taken at Johnson Space Center. Epps feels wronged, but for now she is playing the role of a loyal soldier in hopes of flying again.
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#3
by
woods170
on 25 Jun, 2018 07:25
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I have my own theory, but if I say it out loud this thread would probably be instantly locked. Suffice to say that Quartz touches on the theory, <snip>
Theories won't do. That will just result in more assumption and speculation, as you perceived.
Cold hard facts are needed. And we don't have those.
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#4
by
john smith 19
on 25 Jun, 2018 08:22
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I have my own theory, but if I say it out loud this thread would probably be instantly locked. Suffice to say that Quartz touches on the theory, <snip>
Theories won't do. That will just result in more assumption and speculation, as you perceived.
Cold hard facts are needed. And we don't have those.
A fair point.
A logical explanation for her replacement would be that the replacement candidate has experience, or can do things, that she lacks or cannot do.
Is anything known about any such differences between her and her replacement?
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#5
by
woods170
on 25 Jun, 2018 09:36
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I have my own theory, but if I say it out loud this thread would probably be instantly locked. Suffice to say that Quartz touches on the theory, <snip>
Theories won't do. That will just result in more assumption and speculation, as you perceived.
Cold hard facts are needed. And we don't have those.
A fair point.
A logical explanation for her replacement would be that the replacement candidate has experience, or can do things, that she lacks or cannot do.
Is anything known about any such differences between her and her replacement?
Emphasis mine.
That is speculation. The one thing we best do NOT do in this case.
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#6
by
TaurusLittrow
on 25 Jun, 2018 10:22
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I have my own theory, but if I say it out loud this thread would probably be instantly locked. Suffice to say that Quartz touches on the theory, <snip>
Theories won't do. That will just result in more assumption and speculation, as you perceived.
Cold hard facts are needed. And we don't have those.
A fair point.
A logical explanation for her replacement would be that the replacement candidate has experience, or can do things, that she lacks or cannot do.
Is anything known about any such differences between her and her replacement?
Emphasis mine.
That is speculation. The one thing we best do NOT do in this case.
No speculation or opinions allowed on the Forum? Gee.
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#7
by
woods170
on 25 Jun, 2018 11:57
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I have my own theory, but if I say it out loud this thread would probably be instantly locked. Suffice to say that Quartz touches on the theory, <snip>
Theories won't do. That will just result in more assumption and speculation, as you perceived.
Cold hard facts are needed. And we don't have those.
A fair point.
A logical explanation for her replacement would be that the replacement candidate has experience, or can do things, that she lacks or cannot do.
Is anything known about any such differences between her and her replacement?
Emphasis mine.
That is speculation. The one thing we best do NOT do in this case.
No speculation or opinions allowed on the Forum? Gee.
I didn't say "not allowed". I said, in this case: "best not done".
That's two different things.
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#8
by
WindnWar
on 25 Jun, 2018 12:07
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The only good solution is to wait for the official reason to be released. I do wonder why that seems to be taking awhile.
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#9
by
MATTBLAK
on 25 Jun, 2018 12:27
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I don't think we are going to hear anytime soon - if ever. When the book 'Dragonfly' by Bryan Burroughs came out in the late 1990s, NASA was not best pleased by the anecdotes and stories about the Shuttle/Mir missions that it exposed. It would take a near-expose like that book to get things out in the open.
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#10
by
hektor
on 25 Jun, 2018 14:18
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This story reminds me a name from a long time ago : Yvonne Cagle.
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#11
by
MATTBLAK
on 25 Jun, 2018 20:36
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That has been said by others.
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#12
by
EnigmaSCADA
on 25 Jun, 2018 22:22
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Disclaimer: if this question seems obvious, well, I just don't follow the inner workings of the astronaut world.
How "well" does the management, that has the final say in flight assignments, "know" the astronauts at the point in which she was taken off the flight? In other words, are these people thoroughly familiar to them in nearly every way professionally/personally, just starting to reach that level, or not yet intimately familiar with them?
For something as exclusive as going to space, I assume they are very familiar and have a lot of interactive experience by the time of simply being assigned a flight but I realize this is purely an assumption of what would seem logical to me, a person who admittedly has never devoted a single a neuron to the matter before reading this thread.
I'm curious about the level of understanding between astronaut/mgmt at the point on the timeline (the timeline from unknown applicant to space flight veteran) at which this decision was made.
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#13
by
hektor
on 26 Jun, 2018 06:10
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And two decades later, I have never seen anywhere any explanation for that case. So I am not expecting one for this one either.
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#14
by
Lar
on 26 Jun, 2018 20:45
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(mod) I think it best not to speculate about personnel matters unless there is some overriding reason to do so. You all have been good about that so far in this thread.
(fan) I am sorry she didn't get to go. But I expect that with her experience and training she will get opportunities. We are about to see 1, 2, 3, maybe even 4, 5 or 6 (? !!)[1] .... orders of magnitude increase in how many people will be living and working in space at the same time.
No organization with half a clue would pass up a chance to benefit from the training a competent astronaut candidate received. IMHO.
1 - "Millions of people living and working in space" (Millions with an S)
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#15
by
SMS
on 29 Jun, 2018 18:34
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"Perseverance Despite the Odds" with Jeanette Epps, Astronaut — NASA 00:36:10 to 01:23:40
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#16
by
Kansan52
on 29 Jun, 2018 18:49
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I agree with you, Ed and probably share your theory(s). I met her at the World Science Fiction Convention at Kansas City in 2016. My Wife and friend, Lawrence got to speak with her at length over that weekend. She is very nice and while not shy, is very reserved with a dry sense of humour. I was very disappointed for her when she was reassigned.
Did you get to see here accept the Hugo for "The Martian" since Andy Weir couldn't attend? How great to have an astronaut accept for "The Martian"!
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#17
by
MATTBLAK
on 29 Jun, 2018 22:56
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I didn't get into the Hugo Ceremony, no because I was helping set up a Worldcon bid party for New Zealand in 2020. But I could see and hear the ceremony as they were projecting it into the main convention hall.
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#18
by
Hog
on 30 Jun, 2018 11:26
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No organization with half a clue would pass up a chance to benefit from the training a competent astronaut candidate received. IMHO.
Dr. Epps as an active NASA astronaut would benefit that organization even more.
NASA Active Astronauts- active astronauts are eligible for flight assignment.
NASA Management Astronauts- employed at NASA but are no longer eligible for flight assignment.
Astronaut candidates-individuals who have been selected by NASA as candidates for the NASA astronaut corps and are currently undergoing a candidacy training program at the Johnson Space Center. The newest class of 2017 astronaut candidates were announced June 7, 2017.
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#19
by
edkyle99
on 04 Jul, 2018 03:54
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Dr. Epps removal from the ISS mission was unfortunate. I'm sure NASA was hoping for her to fly, because an African-American astronaut hasn't launched into orbit since Alvin Drew flew on STS-133 during February, 2011. The last female African-American astronaut in space was Stephanie Wilson on STS-131 during April, 2010. Although African-Americans have visited ISS, none have served on long duration Expedition crews (out of more than 100) and none have flown on a Soyuz launch from Russia (out of dozens of NASA seats purchased). I find that perplexing.
14 African American astronauts flew on Shuttle, several of them multiple times. Hopefully one or more of the four or so that are currently on NASA's astronaut roster will make it to ISS.
- Ed Kyle