Astronaut Arrested
Looking at the e-mails today, I couldn't believe my eyes: "Nasa astronaut accused of attempted murder," says a message. NASA itself has to confirm: "We are deeply dismayed," the director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, which is responsible for the astronauts, is quoted as saying, "Lisa Nowak has been suspended for thirty days, her flight status has been revoked and she is being held for everyone." Missions locked."
Have you ever felt like going for someone's throat? At some point almost everyone will blow a fuse. But the fact that something like this happens even in the professional group of astronauts, which is subject to strict psychological selection, gives food for thought.
What happened? As can be seen from the reports, it is a classic love drama. One man, two women. He: Bill Oefelein, father of two, space shuttle pilot and just returned from his first flight aboard Discovery. Her: Lisa Nowak, 43, married, three children, also flew on Discovery, but did so last summer.
In the struggle for Oefelein's favor, she seemed to have a rival, Colleen Shipman. The situation comes to a head, Nowak gets in her car at the Astronaut Center in Houston and drives 1500 kilometers halfway across the country to Orlando, Florida, the closest major city to the Kennedy Space Center, the launch site for the shuttles.
Nowak wears a wig and a trench coat and confronts her competitor in the airport parking lot. The drama takes its course; Nowak pulls out a pepper spray and aims it at Shipman's eyes. She flees and calls the police. The officials confront the astronaut and find a hammer, a jackknife, a rubber tube and a love letter to Oefelein in her car.
Nowak is arrested for attempted kidnapping and assault. She was supposed to be released on bail, but according to a report, the public prosecutor's office is now also charging attempted murder. Nowak remains in custody.
