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Astronaut Faces Attempted-Murder Charges

Lisa Marie Nowak, a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery flight in 2006, was arrested Feb. 5 in Orlando after allegedly attacking a woman.
Orange County Jail via Getty Images
Lisa Marie Nowak, a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery flight in 2006, was arrested Feb. 5 in Orlando after allegedly attacking a woman.

In what NASA is calling a bizarre and sad story, an astronaut is being accused of attempted kidnapping and murder.

Police say that Lisa Nowak planned to kidnap and kill someone she considered a romantic rival for the affection of another astronaut.

Nowak, 43, is a married mother of three. She has been an astronaut for more than a decade. Her first space flight took place last summer, when she blasted off into space on the Fourth of July.

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After the charge of attempted murder was added to the accusations against Nowak, the judge in the case raised her bail to $25,000.

The case is unprecedented in the history of the space agency's elite astronaut corps.

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NPR
Nell Greenfieldboyce
Nell Greenfieldboyce is a NPR science correspondent.