CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb. 6, 2007
Astronaut Out On Bail
NASA Astronaut Faces Attempted Murder Charges In Plot Against Romantic Rival
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Play CBS Video Video Astronaut's Love Triangle Woes A NASA astronaut was charged with the attempted murder of her rival. Sharyn Alfonsi reports on Lisa Nowak's entangled love affair that got out of hand.
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Video Analyzing Nowak's Arrest CBS News Space Analyst Bill Harwood talks with Katie Couric about NASA's process of screening potential astronauts.
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Video Love-Struck Astronaut Charged Space shuttle astronaut Lisa Nowak has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. She allegedly stalked a rival in a bizarre love triangle involving another astronaut. Drew Levinson reports.
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Lisa Nowak, a NASA astronaut and Navy captain, left, and Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein. Nowak was arrested on Feb. 5, 2007, for attempting to kidnap a woman she believed was romantically involved with Oefelein, police said. (AP)
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Lisa Nowak, foreground, a NASA astronaut, makes her initial court appearance in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 6, 2007, after being arrested on Monday at the Orlando International Airport. (AP Photo/Red Huber)
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Lisa Nowak, Orange County Sheriff's Department booking photo, left, and Space Shuttle STS-121 Mission Specialist photo. (AP Photo)
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In this undated photo released by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak is shown. Nowak, 43, a U.S. Navy captain, was arrested on Feb. 5, 2007, for attempting to kidnap a woman she believed was romantically involved with another astronaut she was in love with, police said. (AP)
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Lisa Nowak, a NASA astronaut, is escorted to her initial court appearance in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Red Huber)
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Photo Essay Astronaut Arrested Charged with attempted murder in alleged kidnap attempt of romantic rival in love triangle with another astronaut.
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Photo Essay Discovery's 2nd Test Images of the shuttle Discovery as it embarks on another trip into orbit.
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In The Spotlight Space Place If NASA's doing it - you'll find the latest at Bill Harwood's Space Place.
"I guess they didn't like the ruling in court this morning, did they? You think they would have done it if she was still in jail?" he said.
According to authorities, Nowak believed Shipman was romantically involved with Oefelein, and when she found out Shipman was flying to Orlando from Houston, she decided to confront her early Monday, according to the arrest affidavit.
Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers in the car so she wouldn't have to stop to go to the bathroom, authorities said. Astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry.
Dressed in a wig and a trench coat, she waited for Shipman's plane to land and then boarded the same airport shuttle bus Shipman took to get to her car, police said. Shipman told police she noticed someone following her, hurried inside the car and locked the doors, according to the arrest affidavit.
Nowak rapped on the window, tried to open the car door and asked for a ride. Shipman refused but rolled down the car window a few inches when Nowak started crying, the statement said. Nowak then sprayed a chemical into Shipman's car, the affidavit said. Shipman drove to the parking lot booth and police were called.
An officer reported following Nowak and watching her throw away a bag containing the wig and BB gun. Police also found a steel mallet, a 4-inch folding knife, rubber tubing, $600 and garbage bags inside a bag Nowak was carrying when she was arrested, authorities said.
Oefelein and Shipman, who worked at Patrick Air Force Base near the Kennedy Space Center, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
NASA spokesman James Hartsfield in Houston said that, as of Monday, Nowak's status with the astronaut corps remained unchanged. "What will happen beyond that, I will not speculate," he said. He said there were no rules against fraternizing among astronauts.
NASA has programs to encourage astronauts and others to seek help for problems without a stigma being attached to it, CBS News space consultant Bill Harwood reports.
According to NASA's official biography, Nowak is a Naval Academy graduate who has a master's degree in aeronautical engineering. She has a teenage son and younger twin girls.
Oefelein has two children and began his aviation career as a teenager flying floatplanes in Alaska, according to a NASA biography. He studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University and later earned a master's degree in aviation systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute. He has been an astronaut since 1998.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 221 Comments
- Women are too emotional thats a fact, Look at this broad, well trained and an astronaut yet. Goes off and blows (no pun intended) her whole career in a love tryst. Will she go to prison? It all "depends".
Just goes to show you why Hillary is a bad choice, I don't think she would think twice about running off with some hot guy or gal and put this whole country in the tank. - Reply to this comment
- I have some questions to pose to all of us following this unfortunate incident. What happened to Mrs. Nowak? As a commissioned officer in our countries armed forces she has disgraced the authority, trust, and responsibility placed on her by the president of the United States and our country. That being said, what is a married woman officer doing going after another man? What kind of people are those who evaluate her as an officer? She may have been a good astronaut, but she is a disgraceful and sad example of an officer. Mrs. Nowak apparently has had a deep inside problem for months. She looks absolutely grotesque. A reflection of the ugliness in her heart? Why hasn't NASA or the Navy paid attention to her? She didn't get her "new look" overnight. It's a shame that she has wrecked her career for such a foolish quest.What was she thinking? No one knows all the facts behind this unfortunate event, but it's obvious that she is not the same person that did the mission last summer. She may have a place in NASA, but she definitely doesn't belong in the Navy as an officer. God help you Mrs. Nowak!
- Reply to this comment
- i dont care how in love you think you are.
their are roadside stops that take maybe 5-10 mins to stop and use the bathroom.
this is just plain dirty.
dont even try to defend this act of insanity. - Reply to this comment
- bluestardad
Why do people insist talking about war on every one of these chat things.
if you wanna talk about those things talk about it under the apropiate article.
This is a hilarious article about some nut in diapers it dosent get much better then that. - Reply to this comment
- Guys there is more important things than some sick woman in a diaper to think about.
Remember Bush Gave Bremer a medal!
L. Paul Bremer III, who was head of the Coalition Provisional Authority,was given 363 tons of cash that was loaded onto airplanes and sent into the war zone in 2003, adding that U.S. officials had "no way of knowing whether the cash would wind up in enemy hands." Can you believe this? Tons of money stacked on wooden platforms! Still they don't know where billions of dollars went?
Bush gave this idiot a medal! I know it is not as sensational as some love triangle with a married woman wearing a diaper chasing some rival woman who may be just as crazy over a man with a huge shwantz but people are dying at three a day in Iraq and still our Congress does nothing. This article is a welcome distraction to Congress and the Bush Administration. Please understand this. - Reply to this comment
- I do not like this story.
It makes me uncomfortable to watch someone self-destruct publicly.
Hopefully this story will have a short news cycle. (fat chance) - Reply to this comment
- kick her *** azz.
Justice for everyone !
If she kidnaped she should be punished no matter what her social position. - Reply to this comment
- Still want Hillary, folks?
Still think she's the best???
Better think again. If you can vote for her, you can vote for Lisa too. - Reply to this comment
- I love this! Day after day, year after year the media portrays men as idiots in commercials and television shows. But now we know why women don't get the same treatment . . . it's not necessary, they do a superb job making fools of themselves in real life. So much for the strong female pioneer in science type . . . diapers anyone? I absolutely love this entire saga!
- Reply to this comment
- processor2
it's no use! looks like i ran that incest-hillbilly out of this forum. he's mad because i let the truth out about him: a reject not even good enough to make tha ranks of some real idiots like tha KKK or even tha skin-heads. and secretly he wishes he was black like me. - Reply to this comment
- any comment....."Posted by humancitizen at"
Whoever you are,,,,,,you need serious help,,,,NOW
...... - Reply to this comment
- human(scum)citizen
why do you blame me for leaving? did i hit a sore spot? should i have not picked your *** brain? maybe if you stop fondling your grandfather we can then make this real interesting!
oh, and don't forget the spell-check this time either! - Reply to this comment
- human(scum)citizen
why leave now?
did i make you mad?
i'm sorry!
didn't mean to dog you about how you can't spell in all! - Reply to this comment
- human(scum)citizen
why leave now?
did i make you mad?
i'm sorry!
didn't mean to dog you about how you can't spell in all! - Reply to this comment
- human(scum)citizen
why leave now?
did i make you mad?
i'm sorry!
didn't mean to dog you about how you can't spell in all! - Reply to this comment
- Human you are a terrible troll. You are supposed to be subtle so that people stay and argue. But you just throw insults. You need to go back to trolling 1A and learn how to troll properly. Look back few pages and find some of my troll posts to see how it's done. Anyway I%u2019m off. This is just no fun.
- Reply to this comment
- human(scum)citizen
why do you say you hate black people when you really wanna be one? is that why you couldn't make the cut as KKK? did they find out? - Reply to this comment
- human(scum)citizen
i can stay up late!
it's ok!
i can still play with you! - Reply to this comment
- human(scum)citizen
do you feel good about yourself? i bet you couldn't even make it as KKK or even a skin-head. i'll bet you feel lonely wishin someone could have your back. is that why you wish YOU were black? - Reply to this comment
- human(scum)citizen
i bet you wish you were black huh? - Reply to this comment
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