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NASA Holds Press Conference to Address Astronaut Arrest

Aired February 07, 2007 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and we're awaiting that press conference that happens very shortly, just at the top of the hour, only a few moments away, about 45 seconds if they get started on time.
Meantime, as we wait for that live press conference from NASA, we want to bring in our expert on all of this, space correspondent Miles O'Brien. He's standing by to take a look and listen -- monitor this news conference with us.

Miles, it's -- from everything I've heard, everyone is saying, you know, NASA is part of a club. And for them, this is somewhat, if not very embarrassing for them.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I think it's interesting because it's business, but it's -- and it's a profession. But it's also, by its nature, because of the risks and the demands that are made on people, the stress, the fact that they share a passion for something that transcends, they naturally stick together in ways that, you know, it's akin I guess to perhaps police officers and firefighters.

They tend to keep their own counsel. And -- and, so, that -- that rubs up against the -- kind of the cartoon-character portrayal that we have seen thus far of Lisa Nowak. Lisa Nowak became a -- a household name in this country, for most people, because of what we have just seen over the past few days.

LEMON: Yes.

O'BRIEN: The -- the other side of her is what Jon Clark was trying to tell me a little bit about today. And the other side of her is what NASA would like to get out, so that there's -- there's a whole person that's a part of this story.

LEMON: OK.

O'BRIEN: That, along with their -- their natural tendencies, as a closed community like this, to circle the wagons, creates a little bit of a conflict right now. And that's what we're seeing.

LEMON: All right. Don't go anywhere, Miles. We just have to reset, because we have some viewers joining us at the top of the hour.

You're watching the CNN NEWSROOM, Don Lemon here with Fredricka Whitfield in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

We're standing by for a press conference from NASA in both Houston and Washington, D.C. And joining us on the phone -- he's going to monitor this with us -- is our own Miles O'Brien, who is our space expert here.

So, Miles, continue with this.

We were -- we were talking this morning about the pressures that it takes to become an astronaut, and, in some way, if that may have influenced this sort of behavior. Certainly, many hearts go out, but, when you go through that sort of training, you're very in tune with what you might need in sort of a crisis situation.

O'BRIEN: Well, yes.

It's interesting, because think about what goes into the mind of an astronaut here and -- and what they're all about. Lisa Nowak, when I spoke to her, she said, you know, she really got it in her head at about the age of 5, when Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon, that she wanted to be in space.

So, she -- this is a -- this was a lifelong dream and passion of herself, which at long last, she finally realized this past summer, in July. She flew that mission. And what a lot of mental health experts and a lot of people inside the astronaut community have told me is, frequently, when people come back from that incredibly heady experience, that realization of a lifelong dream, it can be a rocky road. It can be a difficult time for them, adjusting to being, you know, firmly footed back on -- on the Earth.

Couple that with the fact that you have got the shuttle program coming to an end in 2010. The shuttles will retire. There's only 14 flights left. There's seven seats per flight. There's about 60 unflown astronauts. So, I'm sure Lisa Nowak and everybody else who flies is pretty cognizant that there's a very good chance that will be their one and only chance to fly on the shuttle.

So, it -- I'm sure there's all kinds of psychological aspects that come into play post-flight. From the absolute pinnacle of their life to what's next can be a difficult time.

LEMON: OK.

You know what, Miles? I -- and I also want to know what we might expect from this press conference. But we're going to keep you around here, as we monitor and wait for this press conference. We want you to hang on the line here, because we want your input as well.

In the meantime, Fredricka Whitfield has something for us.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Lisa Nowak, she worked 10 years to get into space. And that was just what many other astronauts have had to deal with at NASA.

Just like all astronauts, Lisa Nowak spent virtually all of her pre-NASA life, as Miles was explaining, just trying to get a foot in the space agency's door.

CNN's Randi Kaye looks back at Nowak's dream come true.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE LINDSEY, NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION: I knew her well. I have flown with her. She did a fantastic job on the mission. She's been a great astronaut for all the years that I have known her.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lisa Nowak was one of less than 300 Americans to make it into space and the first Italian-American woman. She had dreamed about it since being mesmerized by Neil Armstrong's moonwalk when she was just in kindergarten.

LISA NOWAK, NASA ASTRONAUT: I thought, if there was a chance to be able to come here, that I would love to do that.

KAYE: She spent 10 years training, and then waiting for a space assignment. But, eventually, she saw the stars up close in July 2006, spending 13 days in orbit, a mission specialist on board the space shuttle Discovery.

Like all the astronauts, Nowak was an extremely motivated student, calling herself competitive, determined and energetic.

NOWAK: I watched the development of the space shuttle program, and in particular when they started including women in the program, and it started to look like something that I really could do.

KAYE: She is only one of 38 women to make it into space, a fact not lost on her former high school classmate Dennis Alloy.

DENNIS ALLOY, HIGH SCHOOL CLASSMATE OF LISA NOWAK: I wasn't surprised at all. I think that she was going to be an astronaut if she wanted to be an astronaut, or whatever she wanted to be. She was a hard worker, and she was determined to do what she wanted to do.

KAYE: After high school, Nowak enrolled in the Naval Academy, and became a Navy captain. Eventually, she became a test pilot. It was not an easy entry for her. She applied six times before being accepted.

Nowak even fought a policy that required she have longer legs to fly fighter jets. She got a waiver and has logged more than 1,500 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.

(on camera): In 1996, Nowak was finally accepted into NASA's astronaut program. Every two years, 3,500 men and women apply for about 20 spots as mission specialists or pilots. She passed a battery of medical, physical, and psychological exams before being allowed into space.

NOWAK: I want to make sure that I can support and do everything that I have trained to do in a timely manner, and keep on schedule, and keep everybody safe.

KAYE (voice-over): Before she reached the stars, Nowak offered one word for other women looking to follow her there: persistence.

NOWAK: Exploration is just part of our destiny. It's what we feel inside of us, that we have to go and find out what more there is.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, again, awaiting a press conference in Houston, Texas, and also Washington, D.C. That press conference is scheduled to get under way at any moment now to talk about NASA and also astronaut Lisa Nowak.

Joining me by phone right now is our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien.

And, Miles, just before we saw that story of Lisa Nowak's rise to become an astronaut, and then to go into space, we talked about the challenges here.

Tell us, though, what we might get from this press conference, who we might hear from, and what they might say.

O'BRIEN: Well, it's going to interesting.

I think they're going to be walking a bit of a tightrope here, Don, as -- as I mentioned. On the one hand, they're -- they're very cognizant of what is a very personal issue for an individual. And I think everybody in the NASA community, their -- their heart goes out to Lisa Nowak and -- and whatever emotional roller coaster she is enduring at this moment.

So, I think they're -- they're going to be very protective of -- of -- to the extent that she can at this point, maintaining some privacy. By the same token, she -- she's a public figure. And NASA is an agency supported by the taxpayers. And there's a certain amount of accountability that is involved in all of that.

And, so, given the -- the demands and the amount of questions that have been asked of the agency, I think they feel compelled to say whatever they can say. I don't think we're going to get, at this point, clearly, given the personal nature of it and the fact that there is a -- a criminal case involved, a lot of details about her -- her personal plight, quite frankly.

But I think, when it comes to questions about psychological screening in general for astronauts, procedures, and whether -- whether there will be a review of -- of all of that aspect of review of astronauts themselves, I think that's where we might see them weigh in.

We are going to hear from the deputy administrator, Shana Dale. We're going to hear, also, from the deputy director of the Johnson Space Center, himself an astronaut, Bob Cabana. And I -- I'm told there will be others, some other medical personnel, mental health personnel, who can address also those issues. So, like I say, I think it's going to be a bit of a tightrope for them, but there is such a tremendous demand for some answers to some big questions right now.

WHITFIELD: And, Miles, Fredricka here.

Clearly, a lot of the questions that are going to dominate this press conference will be mental fitness. And the mental fitness of a would-be astronaut is something that is rigorously evaluated at the beginning stages. But what happens once they are in the program? Is that sort of secondary to the kind of training that becomes the focus leading up to a mission?

O'BRIEN: Yes, I -- I think that's accurate to say, Fredricka.

What -- what happens is, first of all, the people that make it to the interview in Houston are people that have been vetted many more ways than I have in my life, and evaluated psychologically in many more ways than I have.

So, right then and there, those people are already a group of people who have been shown to be able to handle a lot of stress, a lot of risk, and have not exhibited any signs of -- of mental instability. When they get there for the interview, they take a test that weeds out people with obvious psychological defects, although I don't think that that frequently -- I don't even know if that ever has happened.

And, then, finally they sit down for a one-hour interview with a psychologist and a psychiatrist. They evaluate not just what they say, but how they say it, their body language, whether they're evasive and so forth.

But, then, when they get to the point -- if they get through all of that -- and it's a weeklong series of interviews, separate from the psychological aspect -- if they get into the astronaut corps, from that point on, the psychological component is -- is more up to the astronaut themselves.

WHITFIELD: Mm-hmm.

O'BRIEN: They have annual physicals, of course, flight physicals, which are very rigorous. And they need to obviously have -- have a certain degree of physical health in order to fly.

But there's not any sort of concurrent mental health exam. If an astronaut feels they're having a hard time, they're invited to call the psychiatrist or the psychologist, but they're...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And that's tough, I imagine, for an astronaut to do.

I think we heard Buzz Aldrin say earlier that, you know, for an astronaut to make that conclusion themselves, and then actually make it public by going to...

LEMON: That press conference is starting now...

WHITFIELD: Oh, hold on.

LEMON: ... Fredricka.

So, let's...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: ... take a listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... counsel Mike Wholley, along with NASA's chief health and medical officer, Richard Williams.

Also joining us today from the Johnson Space Center in Houston is the Johnson Space Center deputy director and NASA astronaut, Bob Cabana, Dr. Jeff Davis, director of space life sciences, along with Jim Rostohar, also of NASA Public Affairs.

We will open with today's event with a statement from NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale. And then we will go to your questions.

So, we will now go to Shana Dale, deputy administrator of NASA.

SHANA DALE, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION: Thank you, David (ph).

We are very concerned about the tragic situation involving Lisa Nowak. And we are deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of Lisa, as well as Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman and astronaut Bill Oefelein.

This is, of course, a personal and legal matter. And NASA is, therefore, limited in its involvement and ability to discuss many of the details.

However, we know that there are a number of questions about NASA policies and procedures. And we would like to address those today, to the extent that we can.

First, we can tell you that Lisa Nowak, who had been scheduled for duties related to the upcoming shuttle mission, has been removed from flight status. She also is on 30-day leave. She has been released from police custody in Orlando, and is now back in Houston, where she lives.

Her activities with NASA in Houston today are confidential personnel matters that we cannot discuss. And we appreciate your understanding and cooperation on this.

As you know, Lisa was a member of the crew of STS-121, which flew this past July. Her performance as a member of that crew was excellent. She took part in a number of post-flight activities with other members of the crew following their return. These included appearances at sporting events, conventions and visits to other NASA centers and contractor sites.

There also have been questions about the status of astronaut Bill Oefelein, who last flew on STS-116 in December as the pilot on that mission. He remains on flight status in the NASA -- NASA Astronaut Office.

Senior management at the Johnson Space Center, where the astronauts are based, received word early Monday that be astronaut Lisa Nowak had been arrested in Orlando and was in custody. NASA management had few further details at that time, and dispatched the chief of the Astronaut Office, Steve Lindsey, to Orlando to look into the situation and offer any appropriate assistance.

Lindsey made the trip on a government aircraft, a NASA T-38 training jet, at the discretion of NASA management, to expedite his arrival and NASA's ability to assess the situation. Steve Lindsey attended the court hearings associated with the case in Orlando.

Lisa returned to Houston on a commercial flight this morning after her release, accompanied on that commercial flight by Steve Lindsey.

We do not know where the facts and circumstances of this case will lead. We will continue to monitor and assess the situation, and NASA will do whatever is appropriate in this case and fully cooperate with the authorities, within legal boundaries.

There are several general procedural questions we would like to address. One question relates to psychological testing of astronauts. Clearing them for flight and assessing their mental health following their flights.

All astronauts are subjected to extensive medical and psychological testing, in order to be admitted to the astronaut corps. In addition to regular health checkups throughout their time of service to NASA, astronauts receive extensive medical examinations prior to each flight.

While there is no specific separate psychological examination for a shuttle flight, NASA health care providers are experienced in all aspects of health care, including behavioral health. And they certainly look for any potential issues or problems.

More extensive psychological examinations are required for long- duration flights, such as an extended mission on the space station. Astronauts also undergo extensive medical examinations when they return from space.

I heard few details on the situation until Monday evening. On Tuesday morning, the administrator of NASA, Mike Griffin, gave direction to the center director, Mike Coats, of the Johnson Space Center to do the following: one, initiate a review of existing psychological screening for admittance into the astronaut corps and a review of the nature and extent to which we do on going psychological assessments during an astronaut's career at NASA. Issues to be addressed include who conducts the screening, what are the professional criteria necessary to conduct the screening, how often and in what manner are astronauts psychologically evaluated throughout their careers, and, if concerns are raised during any evaluation, how are those concerns adjudicated.

Two, in light of the current situation, determine whether there were any areas of concern, any leading indicators we might have picked up on, based on Lisa Nowak's dealings with other astronauts or NASA employees.

From those who participate in this review -- number three, from those who participate in this review, discern any recommended changes to existing procedures or practice, and whether there are lessons to be learned that need to be incorporated into future practices.

Today, Mike Griffin has asked our chief medical officer, Rich Williams, to lead a review of our medical and psychological screening and follow-on health care procedures to determine whether any modifications would be advisable, to ensure that our astronauts have the level of psychological and medical care and attention they need.

Other questions have related to any codes of conduct NASA has for astronauts or other employees. There are no specific behavior regulations for astronauts either on or off duty, beyond the basic expectations for employees of any government agency.

Members of the military, such as Lisa Nowak, who is on active duty with the Navy and is working on detail to NASA, are subject to the rules and regulations of their branch of the military service. We would refer you to the Navy for any specific codes of conduct they may have.

This is a very difficult time for many people, and it is a very tragic event. We appreciate your concern and your interest.

And we will now answer questions as they relate to this issue.

I would like to reiterate the point that David (ph) has made. We cannot answer questions that touch upon the ongoing legal proceedings.

So, I would recommend that you don't waste your time on those types of questions.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Shana.

Before we go to your questions, we're going to go to Houston for a brief statement also by Bob Cabana, the deputy director of the Johnson Space Center and a NASA astronaut -- Bob.

ROBERT CABANA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, JOHNSON SPACE CENTER: Good afternoon.

I just want to say that we're here to answer your questions as best we can. This has been an extremely difficult time for everyone involved.

But I would also like to point out that we at JSC are in the business of human spaceflight. And we can't lose our focus. We have got a -- a very challenging space walk tomorrow morning on the International Space Station. We continue to process and work toward launching our next space shuttle mission to complete assembly of the International Space Station in mid-March.

And we continue to work on the crew exploration vehicle, as we prepare for the future. So, in spite of all this, the team is focused on getting the job done and flying humans into space.

And, with that, I will turn it back to headquarters for questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Thanks, Bob.

We will go to questions now here at headquarters. Please, wait for the microphone to come around, and please identify yourself and your affiliation.

Let's start with Marc, please.

MARC KAUFMAN, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Yes, hi, Marc Kaufman with "The Washington Post."

I was a little confused, in terms of what policy changes your administrator proposed, what he did yesterday and -- and what he did today. It seemed that they were the same thing, that there was going to be a look at whether or not things were being done correctly, in terms of assessing the -- the psychological difficulties of -- potential difficulties of astronauts.

But, if you could just explain in detail what it is that they're going to be doing.

DALE: As I mentioned, there are two different reviews.

The first request went out to Mike Coats early Tuesday morning. And that was specifically a review internal to NASA to find out details about ongoing psychological screenings for admittance into the astronaut corps, ongoing psychological assessments, and also getting into issues of whether there were any indications of concern in regards to Lisa by her fellow astronauts or other NASA employees.

And, also, you know, taking an open look at this process, we have a very good track record within NASA. This agency has been in existence since 1958. Our astronauts are stellar performers. This is a unique, unusual situation that we face.

And we want -- we think we're doing things very, very well in the agency. And the astronauts are incredible performers. We just want to see if there are any areas that need improvement along the way. So, that is part of the review.

In terms of the review that -- that Rich Williams, who is our chief medical officer, he is going to be overseeing a process that also includes external health officials. And that review is both medical and psychological.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) outside experts to examine (INAUDIBLE)

DALE: Yes, we will have internal participation, but also external.

Rich, if you want to add to that.

DR. RICH WILLIAMS, CHIEF OF MEDICAL OPERATIONS, NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION: Yes. I would characterize it as an internally coordinated review, staffed predominantly by external national-level experts in the disciplines we're going to look at, which, of course, will include behavioral health disciplines, and specifically those disciplines in an aerospace operational environment.

TAMMY LYTLE, "THE ORLANDO SENTINEL": Tammy Lytle from "The Orlando Sentinel."

I -- I realize you're early in your investigation, but can you tell us, so far, have you found any indications, red lights, red flags, anything that would have indicated that there were problems with -- with Lisa Nowak? And, also, can you talk a little bit about what impact this has had on the astronaut corps, having to deal with all this?

DALE: Well, I would, first of all, just note that what we're engaged in right now is a review process. So, it's not an actual investigation.

In my discussions with Bob Cabana, who is the deputy center director of Johnson Space Center, he has indicated that they -- they saw no indications of concern with Lisa. But that is part of the review that we want to embark upon, is to go back -- you know, obviously hindsight is 20/20 -- and -- and see if there was anything that we missed along the way. So, that is part of the review process that has been directed to Mike Coats, who is the center director of Johnson Space Center.

In terms of impact on the astronaut corps, as you know, it's a very tight-knit community. They care very much for each other. And Mike Coats is meeting with the astronaut corps today to talk about upcoming shuttle missions, upcoming -- upcoming work on the International Space Station, the need to stay focused on the work that's at hand.

Bob, I don't know if you have anything else you want to add about Mike Coats' meeting today.

CABANA: No. I just -- as far as how the astronaut corps took this, I think folks were shocked and concerned.

As you said, we are a close-knit group, and we try to support one another. I think Mike's meeting is just to get the corps together, talk with them, and discuss the need to focus on the job at hand, and not be distracted by what's going on.

As I said in my opening statement, we have humans in space right now. And we have got some challenging missions ahead of us. And that's what's important. We need to stay focused on it and ensure that we do it right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Tracy (ph), please.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) for Shana Dale.

Can you tell me, do you (OFF-MIKE) NASA has been attracting a lot of notoriety in the last couple days, and been the butt of a lot of jokes. And do you think that this -- you can escape some kind of harm to your credibility in all this, or whether this will have long-term implications for the agency?

DALE: Well, in terms of NASA being the butt of jokes or -- or Lisa taking the brunt of that, I think that's very unfortunate.

This was a tragic event, impacting many lives along the way. And I think we -- we need to deal with that with empathy and a certain level of compassion.

In terms of -- of long-term ramifications, I don't necessarily see it at this point. This is a very unique situation that we're facing. As Bob said, we were all shocked by what we heard coming out of Florida. So, at this point, we consider that to be a very unique situation. We need to let the legal proceedings continue on in Florida. They will take the course that they will take.

And we will support, as we can, and as I said previously, be responsive to the authorities, within the boundaries of privacy issues and any legal constraints that we face. But I do not anticipate long- term consequences from this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nell, please.

NELL BOYCE, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Nell Boyce with National Public Radio.

Why was the decision made for Steven Lindsey and Lisa Nowak to return on a commercial flight? And, also, could you tell me, are any changes or investigations being made into regulations concerning personal relationships between astronauts?

DALE: In terms of commercial flight, Lisa and Steve needed to get back to Houston. And, so, they got on a commercial flight to fly back.

In terms of relationships between astronauts, as -- as I think we mentioned, we treat astronauts as we do other federal employees within the federal government. And we expect astronauts, as we expect any NASA employee, to conduct themselves in a way that does not bring any dishonor to the space program. But we do not meddle into the private lives of astronauts or other employees within NASA. BOYCE: Just as a follow-up, why didn't they return to Houston on the flight the government planned that they originally had -- that Steven Lindsey had originally -- originally taken there?

DALE: I think that -- I don't know the specific details on that. I believe that plane had other responsibilities. We can go back and check on that. But, as I said, Lisa and Steve had to get back, and they boarded a commercial flight and came back. No big deal.

KAUFMAN: Marc Kaufman again with "The Post."

Can you tell us where Lisa Nowak is now? I saw one story that said that she is with her family, but I don't know if that means her -- her natal family or the -- her husband and -- and children. Is she at the Johnson Space Center or is she now at home with whomever?

DALE: I do not know where she is at this specific moment in time. I do know that she needed to take care of some personnel- related matters at JSC. Where she goes after that is her business.

KAUFMAN: And, also, in terms of the review that you're going to be looking -- that you're going to be doing, is this going to be also looking at long-term impacts on astronauts?

And -- and I -- I bring that up because I know that at least one astronaut took his life last year. And I believe that there is some literature that suggests that there have been some long-term consequences that are negative. Perhaps, it -- it all works out, and it's -- that's just an arbitrary kind of thing.

But is -- is that going to be part of the review, what happens long term?

DALE: Well, in terms of the review that Rich is overseeing, that has to do with medical care, psychological issues. I will let Rich address his review. We may also want to hear from Bob -- Bob Cabana being an astronaut, too.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

The long-term health effects of -- of spaceflight, and through all mission phases, training, the actual mission itself in space, and -- and the aftermath of the mission, if you will, have always been of intense interest to us.

To that end, we -- we have, for 20 years, had a -- an ongoing study of astronaut health, taking as much data as we can get from both active-duty and -- and retired astronauts.

So, all aspects of medical care and behavioral health care, including the long-term, the potential long-term effects of spaceflight, will be of interest and will be addressed by the review group.

DALE: Bob?

Let's see if Bob wants to add anything.

CABANA: As far as health care is concerned, long-term effects, as Dr. Williams mentioned, there's a longitudinal health study that I think all former astronauts volunteer to participate in, where our health, in all aspects, is continually tracked, so that we can learn what effects flying in space have for over the long term, as well as yaccumulated effects.

I would like to back up and just clarify one point on the question as to why they didn't fly back on a NASA aircraft from Orlando. Lisa was on leave when she went to Florida. And it was on leave and not there on official business. It would have been inappropriate to fly her back to Houston on government, at government expense. She flew back on her own expense.

We did feel it appropriate, given the situation, that Steve rather than flying back in the aircraft he went there in, it was appropriate for him to accompany her back to Houston, given the situation. Jeff, on the long-term health care, would you like to add any more about the study?

DR. JEFFERY DAVIS, JOHNSON SPACE CTR:: No, other than it has gone on for 20 years, and we keep adding to that with our current active duty astronaut population. And we will continue to track astronaut health care into the future, especially of interest with our long duration flights.

QUESTION: Clarification.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, we're going to now go for a few questions to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Then we'll come back here. But for that I will turn it over to my colleague in NASA public affairs, Jim Rostohar.

JIM ROSTOHAR, NASA PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Thank you, David. We'll start with some questions here in Houston and please remember to identify yourself and name your affiliation. We'll start with Mark Carreau over in the corner.

MARK CARREAU, HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Thanks, this is Mark Carreau from the "Houston Chronicle" and I have a question and a follow-up. My question is this: I understand that Captain Nowak was off duty when these events transpired.

Why was it appropriate for NASA to fly supervisors in government aircraft to Orlando to accompany her through the legal process and escort her back to Houston and use law enforcement or security forces to transport her?

I just want to make sure I sort of have a clear understanding of where the astronaut who was off duty is sort of on their own and why NASA has an interest in sort of protecting that person, if you could sort of describe what the conflicts were and how you resolved them?

DALE: Bob, why don't I start off and then you can respond specifically in regards to Johnson Space Center and what you guys authorized there.

I do think it's appropriate in the beginning of this process on Monday, there were not a lot of details in terms of what was going on, initial details were very sketchy. It was known that Nowak had been arrested.

And so therefore, Mike Coates, the center director of JSC rightfully made the call to send the head of the astronaut office Steve Lindsey, who also happens to be commander of the shuttle flight that Lisa Nowak was on out to Florida to find out what was going on and to get unfiltered information about what was going on.

So I think that was absolutely the right call to make. And as Bob mentioned, Lisa was on leave. So it was appropriate in returning to Houston that they come back on a commercial flight. Bob, I don't know if you want to get into any more details about decision-making process at JSC.

CABANA: Steve was dispatched to represent NASA's best interests. As Shana said early on, we didn't know what was going on. All we heard was an astronaut was in jail.

And as with anyone, when you have as a supervisor, when have you one of your personnel in a situation like that, you want to find out what's going on and see what's happening. And it was most appropriate for Steve to go down there.

As the events unfolded, it obviously was more complicated than we originally anticipated and Steve continued to stale to ensure that the agency was represented and knew what was going on firsthand. As to security personnel being used, we didn't require, we didn't use NASA security personnel.

I understand the airport chose to use security personnel to see them off the aircraft because they did not want to have the hassle that would cause within the terminal. And that was their decision. We did not ask for that.

So Steve -- what NASA has done was provide Steve a way home with Lisa on the commercial aircraft. But as far as looking into it, I think that's why we looked into it.

CARREAU: Thanks. And I think this follow-up question is for Dr. Davis. Just sort of a general question. As best you experts know here at NASA involved in medicine and mental health, do astronauts face stresses different than other professionals with demanding careers? And if so, could you tell us what you know about that?

DAVIS: In terms of the astronauts facing stresses, I don't believe the stress response would be dissimilar to other high-stress organizations. It's just that we have very unique, focused missions. And we prepare our astronauts not only through training, but also through their medical evaluations to face those stresses. But again, I don't believe it's any particularly different than other high stress organizations.

STEPH WATTS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Steph Watts, FOX News, Greta Van Susteren's show "On the Record."

There was a brief discussion about behavioral health issues. Is there a specific program within NASA that if an astronaut is experiencing behavioral health issues, that it's like an outreach program that they can call or talk to someone or speak to someone? Is there a program in place now like that?

CABANA: I'll take that. First stab at that, and it's not just for astronauts. At the Johnson Space Center, we have an employee program where anybody that is in any stressful situation, death in the family, divorce and so on, can seek employee assistance, counseling.

That's available to any civil servant or anyone working here. There are also, and I'll let Jeff address this, but we have assets within our medical corps here to support specifically astronauts involved in space flight.

DAVIS: Yes, a follow-up on your question. We do have a behavioral health program here. And it is a program that can be accessed by the astronaut. Also referrals can be made. So there is a behavioral health program here for the astronauts that are here at the Johnson Space Center.

WATTS: Had Ms. Novak accessed that program?

DAVIS: I can't comment on any specific private medical data, but we do have a program that's available to all the astronauts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another question.

ROBERT ARNOLD, KPRC CORRESPONDENT: Robert Arnold with KPRC in Houston. Have you had any other specific incidents of astronauts being removed from flight status and removed from the astronaut course specifically because they could not handle the mental rigors of long- term space flight? If so, how many and what were the conditions?

CABANA: Well, I wouldn't comment on any personnel issues. It wouldn't be appropriate.

ARNOLD: Can you talk in generalities?

CABANA: I -- not everybody that selected into the astronaut corps ends up flying in space for various reasons. And I wouldn't comment on what those reasons are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next question.

ANDREA STONE, USA TODAY: Andrea Stone with "USA Today." Can you tell us where Bill Oefelein is? Was he transferred to Kennedy Space Center? If he was, when did that happen? Has he left Houston? And also, as part of your investigation, is he going to be subject to under the UCMJ probably charges of adultery if he was involved with Lisa Nowak? Is he being interviewed now? Can you give us an update on him?

CABANA: I wouldn't speculate on anything that the military is going to do or anything regarding Billy Oefelein. Billy was on leave in Florida. And he is still on leave and my understanding is, he's returning to the Houston area.

STONE: He's working here or has he been transferred?

CABANA: No, he works here in Houston. He's assigned to the Johnson Space Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, one more question up front.

NANCY HOLLAND, KHOU CORRESPONDENT: Hi, it's Nancy Holland from KHOU-TV and I want to ask you, Mr. Cabana this question. Even though you've talked about the employee assistance program, in a group of people like the astronauts, highly, highly competitive, not just to get into the corps but to fly in space -- many of them from military boundaries, is there a climate and a culture that needs to be addressed, in your mind, that makes it difficult for some of these people who are so highly motivated to go and say I need help, I need to ask for it? How willing are astronauts to be able to take advantage of what's being offered?

CABANA: I think that's an excellent question. First off, those from a military background, especially the pilots, tend to compartmentalize very well. It's a trait that we're taught from the beginning of our training, that when you go off to execute a mission, you put personal things aside.

We're also taught to look out for one another. And as a supervisor to know when people that you work with or work for you are having issues that may impact their ability to fly, that you ensure they get counseling and so on.

From within the Astronaut Corps, I think we look out for one another. And it's competitive, yes, but it's also a close-knit group that ensures that everybody is hopefully doing well.

And you know, like any group, sometimes some things get missed. But I think that the general feeling within the corps is that we look out for one another and we know that if somebody needs help, there are services available and there's no stigma to it, it doesn't prevent anybody from future space flight assignments or anything else. It's all part of normal life and care of our personnel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And at this time, we're going to go back to headquarters for some questions there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just wanted to follow up on a question that was raised a couple of questions ago. And it had to do with, "Has any other astronaut been removed from flight status due to state of mental health?"

I'm paraphrasing. We did not want to leave a misimpression here. Mike Coates made the decision to remove Lisa Nowak from flight status. He thought it was appropriate based on the ongoing legal proceedings. It makes no statement whatsoever on the state of her mental health. Thank you. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Let's go back to Houston for a few more, please. Then we'll come back here.

CABANA: OK. We'll have some more questions here in Houston.

QUESTION: I'm Chris Duncan from the Associated Press. What is the status of Lisa's husband? Is he still a NASA employee? And who's taking care of their children right now?

CABANA: Lisa's husband is not a NASA husband. He works for Berios (ph), one of our contractors. And he is taking care of their children.

Next question.

QUESTION: Hi, Steve Simon with KHCW-TV here in Houston. Before they said all astronauts go through extensive psychological evaluations while they're in the program. Can you be a little bit more specific? Tell me what they go through. What kind of issues, is it more, "Hi, how you doing?" and you talk to each other? Tell me what kind of testing you do. Is there a format?

CABANA: I'll let Dr. Davis address the psychological testing.

DAVIS: Sure, thanks.

Yes, the astronauts go through a very detailed psychiatric and psychological evaluation at the time of selection. These are done not only with a standard battery of tests that are administered to collect psychological information, but they're also conducted with two two- hour interviews that are combinations of a psychiatrist and a psychologist for the first interview and then with the psychiatrist alone for the second interview. The first one's highly structured and the second one is structured, but also you can follow up on particular questions.

After those tests and interviews are done, they are reviewed by a panel of experts to make a recommendation to the selection board. And then finally, a psychologist panel staffs all those cases for what we would call "Suitability for Short or Long Duration Flights".

So there's both a component of the medical and psychiatric certification, but also a "Suitability for Short and Long Duration Space Flight" that comes out of that.

QUESTION: Once they're in the program, I mean, once they're actively in the program, once you do the interviews, how often do you follow up? How often do you sit down and talk and evaluate the astronauts?

DAVIS: Well, the several part answer to that question, I suppose. The astronauts get an annual medical evaluation that's very thorough. That is with a trained aerospace medicine physician. As an aerospace medicine physician, I'm in that category, we're trained to look for behavioral issues, to be concerned about the family's well- being, spouse and other dependents. And any referrals can be made out of such an evaluation.

Now, there is not a structured test given on an annual evaluation. But there is this very thorough annual medical evaluation by a trained aerospace medicine physician who can make referrals to any discipline. And that's a model that's used in other organizations that have the flight surgeon be the primary contact with the families as well as the astronaut.

And as was mentioned at headquarters, Dr. Williams is initiating a review of our selection and ongoing care procedures to see if there's things we can learn and things we might improve.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next question.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) with KTRK here in Houston.

Quick question. There have been published reports about Captain Nowak having a psychological evaluation today. Can we confirm that? And was that on her own volition or was that done through the Johnson Space Center? And, also a follow-up to the "Chronicle". There are also reports that the JSC requested the police presence at the airport here in Houston. Was that something that was out of this office or was that her request?

CABANA: As far as the request, I think what was done was at their decision at Intercontinental. I think we made them aware that the flight was arriving and that she would be on it.

For the medical information, I mean, that wouldn't be appropriate to comment.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ed Lavandera with CNN.

Is there any way or it too early to tell or is this essentially the end of her career, Lisa Nowak, at NASA?

CABANA: I wouldn't comment. I mean, that's speculation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We'll get the microphone around to the back. But I would also ask that you tell us who you're directing your question to because there are folks in Washington, as well, that could answer some of these questions. You may be directing them to them.

QUESTION: This is more of a general question. I'm Tracy Sabo with CNN. We were told by public affairs here at Johnson earlier today that she was receiving a medical evaluation here today. Has that changed since your response there was a no comment, or if that is indeed true without giving up more personal information that you're not at liberty to do, can you describe in general what type of medical evaluation would even be appropriate while she either would be on leave or what type of evaluation would be something NASA would be interested in at this point?

DALE: Bob, this is Shana from headquarters.

CABANA: .. I'll take that one since... DALE: Discussions about medical evaluations are privacy protected, period.

(AUDIO GAP)

CABANA: OK. We have one over in the middle here just a second as we get the microphone around to you. OK.

QUESTION: I'm just curious in terms of -- Jeff Franks of Reuters -- in terms of Lisa's future here, does -- if she were to be cleared of all the charges in Florida, would she be reinstated flight status?

CABANA: Again, you know, it's hard to comment until we know what happens. And we'll wait and see how it works out.

QUESTION: Also, is there any plan at this point to have ongoing psychological care for her at JSC?

CABANA: Again, Jeff?

DAVIS: At this point, she and her duty status for the next 30 days we do provide health and medical services for astronauts even in the military. That is an arrangement we do have with the military. And if she sought some services over the next 30 days, while she's in that status category, that would be appropriate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Follow up back there.

LAVANDERA: Yes, Ed Lavandera with CNN again. Here in Houston, Bob, to what extent have Orlando authorities contacted you guys? Has peoples' computers been confiscated or whatever? Has that investigation reached in here to Johnson Space Center, where you guys have to capture e-mails or whatever?

CABANA: To my knowledge, we have not been contacted by the authorities for any information yet. But we'll comply to the full extent of the law. We have frozen computers. And e-mails, should they be required because of the criminal charges, it's something that we would do for any employee in this situation to have the information available and ensure that it wasn't lost or modified.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. At this time, we're going to go back to headquarters so that other centers can participate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Jim.

Let's start the questions here.

QUESTION: Tammy Lidle (ph) again from the "Atlanta Sentinel". Can you tell me when she went on leave and was there any reason given in requesting leave?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bob, you're going to have to take that question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... office -- administrative office and actually looked at the time, but it's very normal for astronauts to request annual leave days at a time and not state the reason why, just annual leave, personal leave.

As far as her current leave, given the situation that she's in, it was appropriate that she go into a leave status to take care of this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll ask again that we direct our questions to a specific person, please. And let's go ahead.

LEMON: All right.

You're listening to a press conference there happening in Washington, D.C. and also Houston, Texas, a NASA press conference taking some questions about Lisa Nowak and also the other two people involved in that alleged love triangle, which eventually led to the arrest of Lisa Nowak on attempted first-degree murder charges.

If you want to continue to watch this press conference, you can go to CNN.com/pipeline and you can watch it live there for you.

WHITFIELD: And we're not done with this topic because our space correspondent Miles O'Brien is going to join us after a short break to talk a little bit more about what to glean from this press conference.

Meantime, we're also watching a chemical fire in Kansas City. More on that story when we come right back. And there are the live pictures. We'll elaborate on it further when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're now on this breaking story we continue to follow. Look at the live pictures right now. This is in East Bottoms, which is northeast of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. An explosion took place and then led to a fire. Some witnesses say they heard something like six to eight explosions. This is taking place right now in the middle of an industrial area. This is a chemical plant. It's unclear exactly what caused the explosion or series of explosions. No immediate reports of injuries. However, people in the area in businesses and in residences in the area are being asked to evacuate. That's been taking place for about 20 minutes now. More on the story as we get it.

LEMON: And now -- OK.

WHITFIELD: Just to recap a little bit more, a chemical plant explosion taking place. Witnesses say they've heard between six and eight explosions before this then erupted in fire. It is a very active scene there. We don't know what kind of chemicals are involved, but presumably in addition to firefighters on the scene, hazardous material emergency response teams also on the ground. This taking place in East Bottoms, which is northeast of Kansas City, Missouri. As we get more information from our reporting, we'll be able to bring that to you.

LEMON: Yes, always a concern with chemical fires. We want to get back now to our top story here in the NEWSROOM. We've been talking about astronaut Lisa Nowak. NASA held a press conference just a short time ago.

And I want to bring in our space correspondent, our expert here, Miles O'Brien.

And, Miles, the most interesting thing out of this for me was that NASA is going to review the way astronauts are screened for medical and psychological problems after this arrest of Lisa Nowak. So NASA making some changes and breaking some news here, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I think, Don, given what has happened here and given what is quite obvious, that there is no ongoing proactive, emotional counseling where astronauts are, if you will, given a psychological checkup on an ongoing basis and just evaluated as part of their duties, I think NASA is going to take a hard look at this.

And, you know, I was talking to Jon Clark earlier today. You aired the interview right before we began this live news conference. You know, he's a former flight surgeon. And he has a lot of experience, of course, dealing with stress in his own personal life having...

LEMON: Miles, I hate to cut you off. We have some breaking news happening here. We appreciate your expertise. And if we can get back to you, we will. But we want to talk about this chemical fire -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: This being in Kansas City, Missouri. We want to show you some live pictures right now of the billowing smoke, a very aggressive fire taking place and an extensive one. We don't know what kind of chemical plant this is, only that some eyewitnesses say they heard anywhere from six to eight explosions. And there, a wider view of just the height of the plume of smoke there taking place. It's in an industrial area in East Bottoms. Emergency crews on the scene. And there have been evacuations being conducted within the last 20 minutes. There you go, a very significant fire there and the dark plumes of smoke that can be seen from miles away.

LEMON: Can you imagine the folks who live in that area who are seeing this? And this is, I mean, very thick, black smoke pouring out of this what appears to be a chemical plant of some type.

And in the closer picture that we had earlier, you could see it was almost like -- they were saying they heard explosions. Look at that. We're going to listen into KMBC, which is in Kansas City, Missouri, and see how they're covering this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... descending from the clouds. See that? It almost looks like precipitation. Now, normally when you have a fire of this magnitude, the smoke will get to altitude and stay there. But we appear to have something falling from this cloud. And that goes across downtown, out pretty much the I-35 corridor and as far southwest as about Seven Street Trafficway. So, not sure if that is an ominous sight there or certainly an indication that we might have something falling from the clouds to the ground. But it certainly looks like something is coming out of this giant cloud of smoke now from the fire here on the northeast side. Back down to you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And, Johnny, we are just getting a call in from someone with the Channel 9 News Team telling us that this cloud has extended now all the way to midtown. So confirming exactly what you have been talking about.

One other question we have been asking is about any possible injuries involved with this. And we just got word from the mass (ph) supervisor that there are still ambulances on the scene, but no known patients at this time. But again, command vehicles remain on the scene. But again, no reports of any injuries or known patients at this time.

That's the latest from the mass supervisor, which of course, was a concern, especially when we will saw all those emergency vehicles rushing to the scene. We have Pete Grigsby standing by. He is going to tell us one of the concerns has been about this obvious plume of chemical smoke over our community right now. Want to talk a little bit about how the wind may be affecting this -- Pete.

PETE GRIGSBY, KMBC CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) winds. And they've been about five to ten miles an hour.

LEMON: All right. You're listening to coverage from local affiliate KMBC in Kansas City. You can just see that.

According to our Jacqui Jeras, the winds are blowing at eight miles an hour. But, Fredricka, look at the smoke and flames just billowing from this plant in Kansas City. And you heard them say that this cloud of whatever it is had extended throughout most of the downtown area.

WHITFIELD: Right. And you heard the one person -- the reporter in the helicopter talk about some kind of precipitation or something falling from that smoke that is traveling across the city.

LEMON: Yes, details on this and also what's happening in Houston, major developing story. Let's toss it now to Wolf Blitzer in the "SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.

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