Astronaut Faces Attempted Murder Charge

On Monday, Florida police announced that U.S. space shuttle astronaut Lisa Nowak attempted to kidnap a woman, after waiting for her in an airport wearing a trench coat, dark wig and glasses. She considered the other female a rival for another astronaut's affections.

According to an Orlando police affidavit, Nowak, 43, now faces charges including attempted kidnapping and battery.

Tuesday the presiding judge ordered Nowak to have no contact with the alleged victim, Colleen Shipmana, after issuing a bond of $15,500 for three of the counts against the astronaut. However, Nowak was not released because Orlando police were planning to add a charge of attempted first-degree murder to the three charges she already faced, a jail spokesman said.

In the earlier affidavit, Nowak explained she was awaiting her next flight assignment after traveling aboard the shuttle Discovery in July 2006. She drove from Houston to the Orlando International Airport. This is where she confronted Colleen Shipman. The man who was the focus of both their affections is fellow astronaut, Bill Oefelein.

Among the items to disguise her identity, police also discovered Nowak was carrying black gloves, rubber tubing and trash bags, a folding knife with a 4-inch blade, pepper spray, a steel mallet and a BB gun.

In her car they found diapers that allowed her to make the long drive without having to stop to urinate, Nowak explained. There were also emails from Shipman to Oefelein, a letter detailing Nowak's love for Oefelein, directions to Shipman's house and receipts that indicated Nowak had been paying for everything in cash on her trip, including her overnight hotel stay.

It was around midnight on Monday evening when Nowak, a married flight engineer with three children, made her way to the airport. She waited for Shipman's flight to arrive from Houston then followed her into the parking garage.

Shipman later told police that she could hear the footsteps of someone running after her, so she quickly got into her car and locked the doors.