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NASA is investigating sabotage of a non-critical computer due to be flown to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, which was cleared to lift off on 7 August, the space agency said on Thursday.

NASA revealed the sabotage a day ahead of releasing two studies that the publication Aviation Week says found astronauts were allowed to fly on at least two occasions despite warnings they were so drunk they posed a flight risk.

The damage to wiring in an electronics box was intentional and obvious, NASA鈥檚 associate administrator for space operations, Bill Gerstenmaier, told reporters at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US.

NASA found cut cables inside the electronics box, which was being prepared to be loaded into Endeavour鈥檚 crew cabin for transport to the $100 billion space station.

NASA was told of the sabotage by a subcontractor, which Gerstenmaier declined to identify, citing an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General. 鈥淚t was disclosed to us as soon as the event occurred, about a week and a half ago,鈥� Gerstenmaier said. 鈥淭he damage is very obvious, easy to detect. It鈥檚 not a mystery to us.鈥�

NASA managers believe there is ample time to repair the computer before Endeavour鈥檚 lift-off on 7 August. The shuttle is scheduled to spend up to 10 days at the space station to install a new structural beam and deliver supplies.

Data relay

The computer, which is to be located in the US laboratory Destiny, is designed to collect and relay data from sensors on the station鈥檚 external trusses. The sensors detect vibrations and forces, such as micrometeoroid impacts. Currently, the data is stored in the sensors and not immediately accessible.

鈥淚f we don鈥檛 get it repaired in time, we鈥檒l fly without it,鈥� said NASA spokesman Kyle Herring. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not an issue.鈥�

The same manufacturer also builds gauges for the shuttle鈥檚 wings and other station computer components, Gerstenmaier said. No other damage was detected.

The damage is believed to be the first act of sabotage of flight equipment NASA has discovered, Gerstenmaier and shuttle programme manager Wayne Hale said.

The NASA officials declined to discuss Aviation Week鈥榮 report that a panel had found that astronauts were allowed to fly drunk at least twice, despite objections from colleagues and flight surgeons.

The publication said the panel, set up by NASA to study astronaut health issues after the arrest in February of former astronaut Lisa Nowak on assault charges, also reported 鈥渉eavy use of alcohol鈥� by astronauts within 12 hours of launch, which is against NASA rules.

Complete overhaul

A spokeswoman at Johnson Space Center, where the astronaut corps is based, would not comment but the space agency said it would release the findings of 鈥渢wo reviews regarding astronaut medical and behavioural health assessments鈥� at a news conference on Friday in Washington, DC, US.

Endeavour, fresh from a complete overhaul and the last of NASA鈥檚 three remaining shuttles to return to flight following the 2003 Columbia disaster, is due to carry out a construction mission to the space station.

It will be NASA鈥檚 second shuttle flight of the year.

Endeavour was almost totally rebuilt during its overhaul and was like a new space shuttle, Hale said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like driving a new car off the showroom floor,鈥� he said.

Endeavour鈥檚 seven crew members include teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan, who trained 22 years ago as the backup to teacher-in-space Christa McAuliffe, one of the astronauts who died when Challenger blew up at liftoff in January 1986.

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