Bomb Shatters Hope of Being Astronaut

A small booby-trapped bomb that ripped through a computer lab at the University of California earlier this week did more than shatter the arm and damage the eye of graduate student John Hauser.

It almost surely also shattered Hauser’s dream of becoming an astronaut.

Hauser, 26, of Richmond, is an Air Force captain and graduate of the Air Force Academy who enrolled at Berkeley to earn a doctorate in electrical engineering.

It was a major step in his plan to fly into space, university spokesman Ray Colvig said.

The bomb, which exploded Wednesday when he apparently tried to open its white plastic container, has put that plan in doubt.

The explosion tore the tips off three fingers on Hauser’s right hand, Colvig said, and so severely tore the rest of his arm that he may never have full use of it again.

Hauser, who was on the operating table for six hours Wednesday night, will undergo further surgery today to try to better reconstruct his arm.

The blast also dislodged part of the retina from the back of Hauser’s left eye, and doctors are uncertain how badly that will limit his vision.

Hauser, who is married and the father of two, was described by a spokesman at Herrick Hospital as being in good spirits despite his injuries.

The explosion took place in a small computer room in Cory Hall.

“I know they (authorities) are looking at a similar incident that occured in the same building three years ago. There are some striking similarities in that it also was a package bomb set in a room where anyone could find it,” Colvig said.