One of the great things about living so close to Johnson Space Center is that anything about astronauts qualifies as "local news". I just wish this story wasn't.

Lisa Marie Nowak was accustomed to hard training, prolonged deprivation and a strong sense of mission. But this is not exactly what NASA had in mind when they made her an astronaut.

Equipped with a knife, pellet pistol, can of pepper spray, steel mallet and 4 feet of rubber tubing, Nowak arrived at Orlando International Airport early Monday morning, police said, to confront one challenge the space agency had never considered: a romantic rival.

Nowak, 43, remains in Orange County Jail without bail on a variety of charges arising from a confrontation with Colleen Shipman, an Air Force captain whom she allegedly assaulted in the parking garage during what police characterized as an attempted kidnapping.

She is scheduled to make an initial appearance this morning at the Orange County Jail Booking and Releasing Center, which is inside the main jail facility.

Nowak, a married mother of three, apparently had driven from Houston to meet Shipman, a younger competitor for the affections of another astronaut, Bill Oefelein. So intent was she not to be late that Nowak had donned adult diapers to avoid the customary rest stops, police said she told them.

The story has been a big deal here, because this is a new thing at NASA. We'll have to see how it all shakes out -- and how the space agency deals with the unprecedented situation of an astronaut facing a felony charge. But sadly, it looks like this could ruin the careers of two astronauts and one other military officer.

Posted by: Greg at 11:03 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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