The article didn't mention any drug use.
Where did that come from?
Sounds like a cat-fight to me. You see the same from guys who get into bar fights with some other guy over some girl. Women do the same thing, just that this went a bit too far, in the wrong venue, and she can't use alcohol and the bar scene as an excuse for her behaviour. And besides that we don't have all the details. Maybe she thought her relationship was more important than her career and went all-out to defend it. I mean, how many more shuttle flights are there going to be?
I'd let her off with a slap on the wrist. I'd make sure she had a way-out, a 2nd chance, a rewarding job to go back to, and some people that supported her.