CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A space program worker deliberately damaged a computer that is supposed to fly aboard shuttle Endeavour in less than two weeks, an act of sabotage that was caught before the equipment was loaded onto the spaceship, NASA said on Thursday.

The unidentified employee, who works for a NASA subcontractor, cut wires inside the computer that is supposed to be delivered to the International Space Station by Endeavour, said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's space operations chief. The worker also damaged a similar computer that was not meant to fly to space.

"Some wires were cut on the inside of the unit," Gerstenmaier said. "It is currently being investigated by the inspector general's office."

The sabotage occurred outside of Florida. Gerstenmaier did not identify the subcontractor or where the damage took place.

NASA's inspector general office is investigating.

NASA hopes to fix the computer and launch it Aug. 7, as planned, aboard Endeavour. The computer is designed for use aboard the space station, not the shuttle, and the damage would have posed no danger to either shuttle or station astronauts, Gerstenmaier said.

Report: Drunken Astronauts Posed Risk

Meantime, an independent health panel studying NASA astronauts found "heavy use of alcohol" before launch, according to a report published on Thursday.

Aviation Week & Space Technology, a weekly trade journal, reported the finding from the panel on its Web site. The weekly said that the committee found that on at least two occasions, astronauts were allowed to fly after flight surgeons and other astronauts warned they were so intoxicated that they posed a flight-safety risk.

The alcohol use by astronauts was within the standard 12-hour "bottle-to-throttle" rule applied to NASA flight crew members, Aviation Week reported. The panel was created following the arrest in February of former space shuttle flier Lisa Nowak, who was implicated in a love triangle.

On Thursday afternoon, a media representative at Johnson Space Center in Houston said no one was answering any questions on the matter. NASA has scheduled a news conference for Friday to release the findings of a pair of reviews into astronauts' health.

Aviation Week said the report -- ordered by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin -- does not deal directly with Nowak or mention any other astronaut by name.

Nowak is accused of attacking the girlfriend of a fellow astronaut -- her romantic rival -- with pepper spray in a parking lot at Orlando International Airport. Nowak has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted kidnapping, battery and burglary with assault.

Nowak was dismissed by NASA in March.

Following Nowak's arrest, NASA requested an independent external committee conduct a review of health services available to astronauts. An internal assessment was also undertaken. The results of both reviews will be presented by NASA on Friday.

The panel members include, among others, Air Force experts in aerospace medicine and clinical psychiatry.

NASA Worker Stole $150K

A former NASA employee stole more than $150,000 from government coffers, Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported on Thursday.

Elizabeth Ann Osborne, 52, who resigned in October after 31 years at the space agency, pleaded guilty to embezzling public money as part of an agreement made with the U.S. Attorney's Office on July 17.

"I'm feeling shock and disbelief," said Kim Myrick, who worked alongside Osborne at Kennedy Space Center for several years.

According to court documents, Osborne admitted to using her Bank of America government credit card for 426 fraudulent transactions. The cards were issued by NASA to employees for use on all purchases of $2,500 and below.

Osborne has yet to be sentenced. She will have to pay back the money she stole and she may be sentenced to prison, as well.

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