“Lisa Has Many Friends Here….”

Gina Sunseri, following Lisa Nowak’s departure from the astronaut office in Houston, has been sent the following by a source in Houston.  It comes from Michael Coats, a former astronaut who is now head of the Johnson Space Center:

MESSAGE FROM THE CENTER DIRECTOR

NASA and the Navy have mutually agreed to terminate Captain Lisa Nowak’s detail as an astronaut, effective Thursday, March 8. You will no doubt read and hear much about this action through the media in the coming days, so it’s important that you understand why this action was taken.

As with all active-duty military astronauts, Lisa was detailed to JSC and is not a civil servant. We made the request to the Navy because NASA does not have the administrative options available to deal appropriately with the criminal charges currently pending against her. This decision does not reflect any position on the pending charges.

In the meantime, Lisa has many friends here in the local community who will continue to support her over the coming months, as friends do.

It is important that we continue to focus on our work. We have a shuttle mission launching in a few weeks, a crew aboard the space station and important work being done in the Constellation Program. Please do not let what you see or hear about recent events distract you from the important work we have to do.

If you have any concerns at all, please talk with your manager or with me. As always, we are here to support each other.

Mike