Astronaut On A Different Mission

Nowak then proceeded with the trip that would result in headlines dubbing her an “astro-nut.”

On April 10, 2007, Florida prosecutors released more material in the case. The previous week, On February 4, 2007, Nowak packed latex gloves, a black wig, a BB pistol and ammunition, pepper spray, a hooded tan trench coat, a drilling hammer, black gloves, an 8-inch (200 mm) Gerber folding knife and other items. She then drove her husband’s car 900 miles from Houston to Orlando, Florida, to confront Shipman.

Unfortunately, Nowak will be remembered for wearing an adult diaper on a mad cross-country dash, determined not to slow down for rest-room stops.

Later it was claimed that the diapers found in her car were toddler diapers due to her family’s evacuation during the 2005 hurricane season.

Nowak became a punch line. The diapers, we now know, changed everything. They sparked loud, involuntary national guffaws and thousands of jokes. Headlines like “Dark Side of the Loon” and “In Space No One Can Hear You Pee” proliferated. Talk show hosts couldn’t resist the easy target. “As you know,” snickered Jay Leno, “she went to court yesterday and was released in her own incontinence.”

Shipman rolled down the window a couple of inches after which Nowak sprayed the pepper spray into the car. Shipman drove off and called the police. Orlando police officers arrived minutes later and one officer observed Nowak throwing a bag into the trash at a parking shuttle bus stop. Nowak, in her disguise of wig and raincoat, was subsequently arrested at Orlando International Airport on charges of attempted kidnapping, battery, attempted vehicle burglary with battery, and destruction of evidence.

Requesting a restraining order against Nowak after her arrest, Shipman claimed that Nowak had been stalking her for two months. Nowak told investigators she was involved in a relationship with Oefelein, which she described as being “more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship.” Citing evidence of elaborate planning, disguises and weapons, police recommended she be held without bail.
On April 10, 2007, Florida prosecutors released more material in the case. The previous week, the trial judge had agreed to unseal some of the documents that described items found in Nowak’s car after her arrest. Among these items were a handwritten note listing Shipman’s flight information and one on “Flight Controller’s Log” paper listing more than 24 items, including sneakers, plastic gloves, contacts, cash, an umbrella, and black sweats, a floppy disc contained two photographs of Nowak riding in a bicycle race, and 15 images depicting an unidentified woman in different stages of undress. An evidence report indicated that nearly all of the photographs and drawings depicted scenes of bondage. Also found were $585.00 (USD) and £41.00 (GPD) in cash and four brown paper bags with 69 orange pills that were not publicly identified. Nowak was a woman with a plan.

Nowak was also considered dangerous, at least at the moment, and sent to jail.
Two fellow astronauts flew to Florida in T-38 jets for Nowak’s arraignment and appeared before a judge on her behalf.astronaut at NASA. On February 6, 2007, both appeared before a judge on her behalf. The state’s assistant attorney, Amanda Cowan, argued that the facts indicated a well-thought-out plan to kidnap and potentially injure Shipman. Wanting pretrial release, Nowak’s attorney pleaded, “One’s good works must count for something.”

Nowak was released on $15,500 bail under the condition she wear a GPS tracking system and not contact Shipman.

But before Nowak was released, Orlando police charged Nowak with attempted first-degree murder and therefore she could not be released on bail. In the second arraignment Nowak was charged with attempted first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, and the judge raised bail by $10,000. Posting bail, Nowak was released from jail.
Shipman was not happy with the sentence. She told the court Nowak had intended to kill her: “It was in her eyes: a blood-chilling expression of limitless rage and glee.” Shipman was left with nightmares and dizzy spells, she said; she also felt she needed weapons to protect herself.

After the incident in Orlando, Nowak and Oefelein were returned to the Navy from NASA because they had violated the Navy’s rules prohibiting adultery. Naval officials waited for Nowak’s kidnapping case to be resolved before taking further action against her. She remained on active duty with the Navy .

On February 6, 2007, Nowak was placed on 30-day leave by NASA. Returning to Houston on a commercial airline flight on February 8,upon arrival she was taken immediately to the Johnson Space Center for medical and psychiatric evaluation. Nowak’s assignment to NASA as a serving Navy officer was terminated by the space agency on March 7, 2007.

Then, in 2011, The Navy gave “an other than honorable discharge and she was demoted from a captain to a commander, as reported by NBC News.

NASA suffered an image disaster almost as great as a rocket explosion.
Immediately reasons for her behavior were put forward.

Her character actually is the problem, says Dr. Siegel. “Typical mental disorders, like bipolar disorder or depression, are characterized by a pattern of sickness,” Dr. Siegel says. “You can’t concentrate, you’re not eating and sleeping, etcetera.

“A personality disorder is not something you have. It’s something you are. Nowak doesn’t have symptoms of illness. Rather, she has personality traits.”

Personality disorders are disturbed patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that come to the surface especially in relationships. In work or daily life in settings many people with personality disorders will behave normally. But enter jealousy, with its anger and insecurity, and behavior can shift markedly.