While the report does not mention during which missions the drinking occurred, Air Force physician Richard Bachmann, who authored the report, told reporters one incident involved preparations for a shuttle mission that was eventually delayed.

The astronauts then wanted to fly on a T-38 supersonic jet used by NASA, he said, without giving more detail.

The second case involved a Russian Soyuz mission bound for the International Space Station (ISS), colonel Bachmann said.

"One incident involved both the shuttle and a T-38 ... and one involved the International Space Station," he said.

NASA had earlier confirmed the report on alcohol use and flying while impaired, saying that "both flight surgeons and astronauts identified some episodes of heavy use of alcohol by astronauts in the immediate preflight period which has led to flight safety concerns."

"However the individuals were still permitted to fly," it said in a statement.

The report released by NASA found "heavy use of alcohol" inside the standard 12-hour "bottle to throttle" abstinence period for flight crew.

William Gerstenmaier, head of space operations at NASA, earlier declined to discuss the report but said he "never had any instances" involving safety risks because of drunken astronauts, The New York Times reported.

"There's not been a disciplinary action or anything I've been involved with regarding this type of activity," he said.

There was more bad news for the space agency on Thursday when NASA officials said workers found a computer due to be transported by shuttle Endeavour in an August mission to the ISS had been apparently sabotaged, with its wires cut.

"One of our subcontractors noticed that a network box for the shuttle had appeared to be tampered with," NASA spokeswoman Katherine Trinidad told AFP. "It is intentional damage to hardware."

She said workers who discovered the computer damage at the subcontractor's facility -- not at NASA's -- had notified the space agency "several days ago," adding: "There is an ongoing investigation."

She did not identify the subcontractors or offer more details.

"What we are trying to do now is repair that unit and try and fly it when possible," she said.

Endeavour and a crew of seven are due to launch on August 7 from NASA's base at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to continue building the ISS, an orbiting space laboratory.

Safety is a major concern in shuttle missions after damage sustained by the Columbia craft on launch caused it to break up on re-entry in February 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board.

"If the reports of drunken astronauts being allowed to fly prove to be true, I think the agency will have a lot of explaining to do," said Bart Gordon, chairman of the House of Representatives' science and technology committee.

"That's not the 'right stuff' as far as I'm concerned," he said, alluding to the book and 1983 film about early NASA crews, "The Right Stuff."

The internal NASA panel was set up to review astronaut health after astronaut Lisa Nowak in February was arrested and charged with trying to kidnap a woman who was dating another astronaut. NASA fired her in March.

The agency suffered another setback in April, when contractor Bill Phillips sneaked a revolver past security at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, shot a male colleague dead and killed himself.

The agency also faced political criticism in May when its chief Michael Griffin drew fire for questioning the need to tackle global warming.

Related Links
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News