Astronaut Gone Bad

“Astronaut Charged With Kidnap Attempt
By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer
2 hours ago


In this undated photo released by the Orange County ...
ORLANDO, Fla. - An astronaut drove 900 miles and donned a disguise to confront a woman she believed was her rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot, police said. She was arrested Monday and charged with attempted kidnapping and other counts.

U.S. Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak, 43, who flew last July on a shuttle mission to the international space station, was also charged with attempted vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery. She was denied bail and is scheduled to make a court appearance Tuesday.

Police said Nowak drove from her home in Houston to the Orlando International Airport to confront Colleen Shipman.

Nowak believed Shipman was romantically involved with Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, a pilot during space shuttle Discovery's trip to the space station last December, police said.

Nowak told police that her relationship with Oefelein was "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship," according to an arrest affidavit. Police officers recovered a love letter to Oefelein in her car.

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.

Hartsfield said he couldn't recall the last time an astronaut was arrested and said there were no rules against fraternizing among astronauts.

When she found out that Shipman was flying to Orlando from Houston, Nowak decided to confront her, according to the arrest affidavit. Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers so she wouldn't have to stop to urinate, authorities said.

Astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry.

Dressed in a wig and a trench coat, Nowak boarded an airport bus that Shipman took to her car in an airport parking lot. 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. Nowak then sprayed a chemical into Shipman's car, the affidavit said.

Shipman drove to the parking lot booth, and the police were called.

During a check of the parking lot, an officer followed Nowak and watched her throw away a bag containing the wig and BB gun. They 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.

Inside Nowak's vehicle, which was parked at a nearby motel, authorities uncovered a pepper spray package, an unused BB-gun cartridge, latex gloves and e-mails between Shipman and Oefelein. They also found a letter "that indicated how much Mrs. Nowak loved Mr. Oefelein," an opened package for a buck knife, Shipman's home address and hand written directions to the address, the arrest affidavit said.

Police said Nowak told them that she only wanted to scare Shipman into talking to her about her relationship with Oefelein and didn't want to harm her physically.

"If you were just going to talk to someone, I don't know that you would need a wig, a trench coat, an air cartridge BB gun and pepper spray," said Sgt. Barbara Jones, a spokeswoman for the Orlando Police Department. "It's just really a very sad case. ... Now she ends up finding herself on the other side of the law with some very serious charges."

If convicted of attempted kidnapping, Nowak could face a maximum of life in prison.

It was not immediately known whether Nowak had an attorney.

Oefelein and Shipman did not immediately return phone messages Monday night.

According to NASA's official biography, Nowak is married with three children. During her 13-day mission in July she operated the robotic arm during three spacewalks.

Oefelein is unmarried. He piloted the space shuttle Discovery in December. He has two children, according to a NASA biography.

Nowak and Oefelein were both first-time fliers during their shuttle missions last year. They trained together but never flew together.”

“Whaa-?”

“Astronaut standards sure have slipped.”

“Plagiarism, eh? (See my 'What's going on down there?' thread.)”

“Where? Mexico? ;-)
Ruby's title is better.”

“We got a few ARMY Astronauts that need flight time...!”

“Oopsie! Sorry, Gremlin. You scooped me by five minutes. I was probably in the middle of the cut and paste.
last edited: 2/06/07 8:33:43 AM”

“Nevermind.
This isn't a Fuego thread, LOL.
last edited: 2/06/07 8:39:49 AM”

“My son was in regional math competition for middle school students at the Coast Guard Academy on Saturday. The guest speaker was an Coast guard grad and astronaut who flew onthe September mission. Dan Burbank.

it was a great slide/video show. I am glad he wasn't the one who made these headlines.

My kids thoughtthe presentation was great.

He had three themes for them that he repeated throughout:

Work hard.

Be good

Don't quit.”

“I always wondered if that unmentionable - sex in space - had ever happened.

Maybe the answer is yes?

BTW, that should be the title of this thread.”

“The 250 Mile High Club?”

“Wow...”

“Why are we supposed to care about this??? How do things like this become a national passtime?”

“pepperDog, I agree with you. I see family and friends reading tabloids and watching "E" to learn all about Brangelina, etc, and I just think, WHY????

They are just people. Freaky people half the time, yes, but just people. And it is the attention their personal lives get that drives them to be even freakier.”

“It's the same reason I check up on TT now and then; morbid curiosity.”

“Well you know how astronauts love tang.”

“Oh man! That joke was out of this world!”

“This cut and paste is too long. Can someone encapsulate it for me?”

“Gotta love the diaper trick though. Who knew that was the secret to beating an airplane to its destination?

heh heh heh heh”

“What'd she tell her, "I want to go to Uranus?"
last edited: 2/06/07 12:01:39 PM”

“Basically, the chick astronaut turned into crazy jealous freaky woman of another female astornaut over the male astronaut pilot.”

“What'd she do to her first? Smack her ass orbit her on the back of the neck?
last edited: 2/06/07 12:01:10 PM”

“I'd groan over your jokes if I wasn't giggling so hard, Nigal.”

“Houston, we have a problem!”

“Hey I didn't just come to post on this thread. I came to rocket!”

“Hey...this could be the next reality show, sort of a soap opera in space. It's a new frontier.”

“Stovestomper's right, Ruby's title was better.

BTW, we love you guys down there.”

“Aero's was the best.”

“That crazy woman is a U. S. Navy Captain.
Christ on a cracker!”

“Doesn't this constitute conduct unbecoming of an officer?”

“You THINK?!?!”

“Astronaut to face attempted murder charge
NASA astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak will be charged with attempted murder, a Florida jail spokesman said today. Nowak already was accused of pepper-spraying and trying to kidnap Colleen Shipman. The charges stem from what police say was a kidnap plot prompted by a love triangle involving Nowak, Shipman and space shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein.”

“I HATE this crap.
Astronauts were my biggest heroes growing up.”

“She puts the Bad Ass in Bad Asstronaut.




Hey Aero... ya AWOL goomba! LOL”

“Their gonna putter in the pokey and then poker in the putty!”

“Maybe she got hold of a bad TANG?”

“i dont know whats funnier, the diapers or the fact theyre going to bring attempted murder charges against a woman armed with a bb gun and mace”

“Who wants to bet the press hasn't told us everything?”

“its a vast conspiracy covered up by the pro-astronaut media”

“She's in big doo doo with the Navy.
An adulterous relationship with a Junior Officer (Capt./Cmdr.) is grounds for dismissal by itself.
He, the Cmdr., is in big trouble too.”

“This is just sad. I can see all the negative spin that will be put on it, programs jeopardized, careers ruined, and not just hers.”

“If Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein is married, he is in the same boat because LtCmdr Colleen Shipman is of lesser rank than he.”

“Does this mean the post office gets it's long-awaited reprieve ? Instead of using "postal" you can now say someone went "Nasa".”

“Jealous astronauts, shopping for stuff the day after Xmas, Paris Hilton, the Super Bowl and the best SB commercical, Borat, Bradgelina, Deal or No Deal, heart-wrenching angst because there aren't enough PlayStation 3s or Tickle-Me-Elmos, Tom Cruise's latest Scientology gaff, Survivor, last night's NBA game, 250 cable channels, who is gonna win at the Oscars?, etc, etc etc, ad nauseum. And then, some more shopping because if you don't have it, you won't be fulfilled and are therefore, in the eyes of Madison Ave and yourself, a worthless piece of sh*t.

Glittering objects to distract and dazzle the crows. Meanwhile, back in ........
You fill in the blank.
last edited: 2/06/07 5:47:33 PM”

“he's single...i'm infering that Shipman is non military...and remember fellas...


DENY
DENY
DENY!!”

“Feb. 6, 2007

David Mould/Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1898/4769

Eileen Hawley/James Rostohar
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111

RELEASE: 07-23

STATEMENT REGARDING THE STATUS OF LISA NOWAK

The following is a statement from Michael Coats, director of NASA's
Johnson Space Center in Houston, regarding the status of astronaut
Lisa Nowak.

"We are deeply saddened by this tragic event. The charges against Lisa
Nowak are serious ones that must be decided by the judicial system.
She is officially on 30-day leave and has been removed from flight
status and all mission-related activities. We will continue to
monitor developments in the case."


-end-



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“Lt Commander Shipman, OPIE. U. S. Navy

If OPIE is correct about him being single, he may be OK in this. But OPIE was wrong about Shipman. LOL
last edited: 2/06/07 7:52:38 PM”

“Super Troll, whey do you think anyone in here wants to hear army motivation slogans, just comment on the topic with out screaming to everyone your in the Army or were. I hate it when people do that on the net.”

“Someone sure is intolerant.”