Orlando, Fla. – She prepared for the 950-mile drive from Houston with the discipline of someone who had flown 13 days in space. The steel mallet, folding knife and rubber tube were all catalogued on a handwritten list, police say. She had maps, she had bus schedules and she had a disguise. Thinking like an astronaut, she brought diapers to avoid bathroom stops.
Lisa Nowak set off for Orlando seven months after the July 4 launch of the shuttle Discovery, her first trip to space, and probably her last.
The NASA astronaut from Rockville, Md., was charged Tuesday with the attempted murder in Orlando of an apparent rival for the affections of another astronaut. Nowak, one of 46 women to fly in the space shuttle, is now the first active astronaut to be arrested on a felony charge. She left an Orlando jail Tuesday afternoon with her jacket pulled over her head.
Police said Nowak, 43, stalked the younger woman, 30-year-old Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, at an airport parking lot early Monday. According to a charging document, she intended to confront Shipman about her relationship with Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, an astronaut who, like Nowak, is based at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
A few weeks ago, Nowak split from her husband of 19 years, Richard Nowak, a flight controller for the international space station. They have a 14-year-old son and 5-year-old twin girls. She told police she and Oefelein had “more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship,” according to the document. Nowak carried with her e-mails from Shipman to Oefelein.
Neither Shipman nor Oefelein could be reached by phone Tuesday. Oefelein, 41, is divorced and has two children. He piloted Discovery to the international space station in December.
Police say Nowak may have been planning the confrontation as early as Jan. 23, the day she printed out the maps she used to navigate from Texas to Florida, according to a police affidavit. She had obtained a copy of Shipman’s flight plans to Orlando.
The affidavit provides this account: Nowak checked into a La Quinta Inn in Orlando under a false name, stashed her car and set off to meet Shipman’s flight from Houston to Orlando.
Shipman picked up her luggage about 3 a.m. As she waited for the bus to the airport satellite parking lot, Nowak lingered nearby in a wig and a trench coat. When Shipman boarded the bus, Nowak boarded, too. She got off where Shipman did.
Nowak was armed with a steel mallet, a buck knife and a BB gun that resembled a handgun. It was loaded and was set to fire, according to the affidavit.
Walking to her car, Shipman heard “running footsteps” behind her. She jumped into her car, locking the door. But before she could pull away, Nowak slapped at the window and pulled at the door.
“Can you help me please?” Nowak told her, according to the affidavit. “My boyfriend was supposed to pick me up, and he is not here. I’ve been traveling and it’s late. Can you give me a ride to the parking office?”
Shipman said she’d send someone to help. Nowak asked to use Shipman’s cellphone. Shipman told her the battery was dead. Nowak said she could not hear Shipman through the window. Then Nowak began to cry.
Shipman opened her window two inches. Nowak sprayed something, later determined to be pepper spray, at Shipman’s face. Shipman drove away, her eyes burning, and sought help, according to police.
Police and prosecutors say the evidence suggests that Nowak might have wanted to get into Shipman’s car and then kill her.
Prosecutor Amanda Cowan likened Nowak’s planning to the kind of preparations astronauts make for space.
“She had a mission that she was very determined to carry out,” Cowan said.
The judge had agreed to release Nowak on $15,000 bond on charges of kidnapping and battery, but with an added a charge of attempted murder, the bail was increased to $25,000.
NASA astronauts undergo a psychological assessment when they join the space agency but face no further evaluations during their careers unless issues arise during annual physicals, the space agency said Tuesday.
At least one retired astronaut, Jerry Linenger, said NASA should review its psychological screening process. With NASA talking about a 2 1/2-year trip to Mars, it would be dangerous for someone to “snap like this” during the mission, he said.
The Baltimore Sun and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
