NASA Fires Arrested Astronaut Capt. Lisa M. Nowak

By CARMEN GENTILE
Published: March 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/science/space/08astronaut.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

MIAMI, March 7 — Capt. Lisa M. Nowak, accused last month of attacking a romantic rival for the affections of a fellow astronaut, was fired from NASA on Wednesday, agency officials said.

According to a NASA statement. Captain Nowak was dismissed because the agency “lacks the administrative means to deal appropriately with the criminal charges” against her.

Were she a civil servant, NASA would have had the choice of placing Captain Nowak on administrative leave without pay or indefinite suspension until the charges are resolved, a NASA spokesman said. But because she was an officer, those options were not available.

Instead, Captain Nowak will return to the Navy.

James Hartsfield, a NASA spokesman, said the termination of Captain Nowak, who has been charged with attempted kidnapping, “does not reflect any position by NASA” on the criminal case against her.

Mr. Hartsfield added that he believed it was the first time NASA had asked the military to take back an astronaut. It is also the first time an active-duty astronaut stands accused of committing a felony.

Captain Nowak, a Navy veteran who flew aboard the space shuttle last year, drove more than 900 miles on Feb. 5 wearing a diaper to avoid having to stop to use the bathroom and confronted Capt. Colleen Shipman of the Air Force in a parking lot at Orlando International Airport, attacking her with pepper spray, officials say.

On her cross-country trip, she carried a compressed-air pistol, rubber tubing, a knife and a steel mallet. Captain Nowak had learned that Captain Shipman was romantically involved with Cmdr. William A. Oefelein, a shuttle pilot with whom Captain Nowak also had a relationship.

A Navy spokeswoman, Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, said Wednesday that Captain Nowak had orders to report on March 21 to work as a staff member for the chief of naval air training in Corpus Christi, Tex.

Captain Nowak is currently on leave from the Navy and living in Houston. She has been released from jail pending trial, though she must wear an electronic monitoring device.

NASA’s dismissal of her came as no surprise to her or her lawyer, Donald Lykkebak, said a spokeswoman for Mr. Lykkebak.

The Navy has decided to reserve judgment against Captain Nowak pending the outcome of her case.

John Schwartz contributed reporting.