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02/06/2007: "Talk About Your Unstable Orbit!"

We as Americans are pretty jaded when it comes to heroes. Our politicians take bribes, our athetes take drugs, and our corporate leaders take profits. There's not a lot for us to believe in.

For nearly a half century, though, there was one group of people we could look to with pride, confident they would be worthy of our adulation - the men and women of the NASA Astronaut Corps. From the original Mercury Seven to the shuttle and space station astronauts of today, they have consistently performed in a manner that brought nothing but glory and acclaim to NASA and Americans. In the history of the space program, there has never been a major controversy.

Until today.

Lisa Nowak flew on the shuttle Discovery last summer and by all accounts is an astronaut's astronaut. A Navy captain and Academy graduate, she is also a wife and mother of three children. By any normal measure, she would look to be a candidate to uphold the proud traditions of NASA.

All of that makes it hard to understand where she is right now. Nowak, 43, was arrested early Monday morning in Orlando, Florida after attacking Air Force captain Colleen Shipman in the airport parking lot. As the details came to light, it got stranger and stranger - this is one straight out of a dime store novel.

Apparently, Nowak had feelings for fellow astronaut Bill Oefelein, feelings that may have led to some level of a relationship with Oefelein and her decision to separate from her husband a few weeks ago. Oefelein, meanwhile, was having a relationship with Shipman, who works with NASA. When Nowak saw flight information for Shipman on Oefelein's computer, she apparently flipped out.

Armed with an array of "weaponry" and wearing the same diapers assigned to orbital crews to minimize her need to stop along the way, Nowak drove the 900 miles from Houston to Orlando, where she accosted Shipman, spraying her with pepper spray before she could get away.

Shipman drove away and found police, who located Nowak at a bus stop. They also found a wig and a plastic bag containing a carbon dioxide-powered BB pistol in a nearby trash can, the report said.

Inside a bag Nowak was carrying, the officer found a tan trench coat, a new steel mallet, a new folding knife with a 4-inch blade, 3 to 4 feet of rubber tubing, several large plastic garbage bags and about $600 in cash, the report said.

Nowak admitted the details of Shipman's story, according to the police report, and permitted a search of her car.

Inside the car, police found an a half dozen latex gloves, MapQuest directions from Houston to Orlando International Airport, e-mails from Shipman to Oefelein, diapers Nowak said she wore to reduce stops along the highway and a letter indicating how much she loved Oefelein.

Initially charged with attempted kidnapping, the charges were raised to attempted murder late this afternoon. Nowak posted bail, and will return to Houston with a GPS anklet that will track her moves.

The dueling press releases have already come out. From Mike Coats, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston:

"We are deeply saddened by this tragic event. The charges against Lisa Nowak are serious ones that must be decided by the judicial system. She is officially on 30-day leave and has been removed from flight status and all mission-related activities. We will continue to monitor developments in the case."

That sound you hear is Coats pulling the chain to flush Nowak's career.

From the Nowak family:

We are naturally saddened and extremely concerned about the serious allegations being made against Lisa. We love her very much, and right now, our primary focus is on her health and well-being.

I'm not sure there is anything scarier than a woman scorned when the woman is a military-trained Type-A personality. Clearly, something happened in Nowak's brain that made her chain come off the sprocket. It all sounds pretty funny until you realize that she's looking at the potential of life in prison should she be convicted of all charges.

The tabloid media ... er, cable news networks ... have gotten a hold of this one and are running with it as if it were O. J. Nothing they like more than pulling heroes off the pedestal. There's a lot more that will come out over the next few days and weeks ... all we can do is wait and watch.