Posted on 02/05/2007 5:27:04 PM PST by burzum
A NASA astronaut is charged with attacking her rival for another astronaut's attention early Monday at Orlando International Airport, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.
Lisa Marie Nowak drove from Texas to meet the 1 a.m. flight of a younger woman who had also been seeing the male astronaut Nowak pined for, according to Orlando police.
Nowak -- who was a mission specialist on a Discovery launch last summer -- was wearing a trench coat and wig and had a knife, BB pistol, rubber tubing and plastic bags, reports show. Once U.S. Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman arrived, Nowak followed her to the airport's Blue Lot for long-term parking, tried to get into Shipman's car and doused her with pepper spray, according to reports.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
BTW, I thought it really weird how Lisa covered herself with some odd, burka-like outfit as if nobody knows her face. Whose idea was that?
I think it's time to completely discount what the mother in law said, one way or the other.
I know too many mother in laws.
I hear ya. :-)
Point well taken.
That's what I said, too - there's no way to judge which statement is truthful.
Maybe the information posted in the Houston Chronicle blog was bogus in regards to the MIL's statement that it was a factor.
One time when I was interviewed by a reporter, the published story contained quotes I had never made. Fortunately, I happened to agree with them.
Was his name Jayson Blair perchance?
His mother-in-law speaks
Charlene Davis, Oefelein's former mother-in-law, was cryptic about the astronaut's relationship with Nowak in an interview with the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Times quoted her a day earlier as blaming Nowak, at least in part, for the breakup of her daughter's marriage.
Davis said she has not met Nowak but knew that she and her former son-in-law "spent time together."
"Whatever choices they made, unfortunately, they will affect many lives," said Davis, a real estate agent in Hawaii, of Oefelein and Nowak. "Unfortunately, he's made some choices in life that put him in an uncomfortable position."
Davis said the family may be upset with Oefelein and his possible role in this bizarre drama, but they are standing behind him.
"He's the father of my grandchildren, and he needs to have people around him," she said.
Of Nowak, Davis said: "I don't know why somebody who is supposedly so smart could be so stupid."
Oefelein was married to the former Michaella Davis, a NASA contractor who lives with the couple's two children in Friendswood. She did not return the Chronicle's calls for comment.
Davis emphasized that Oefelein had a lot of pressure on him. "So many things were going on in his life, between the program and his family," she said. "Bill worked with that woman (Lisa Nowak) for years, but who's responsible for the demise of their (the Oefeleins') marriage? I have no idea."
Sounds like Charlene is having waffles for breakfast.
Astronauts William Oefelein, right, and Lisa Nowak take special training at CFB Valcartier on Jan. 21, 2004. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)
Cmdr. William Oefelein and Capt. Lisa Nowak in winter training in Valcartier, Quebec, in January 2004.
Why do they do winter training now? In case the shuttle or soyuz capsule ends up in Siberia?
Nowak just sank her career, experts say
Jim Leusner | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted February 8, 2007
Astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak's career as a naval officer is over, no matter how the criminal charges against her play out, military legal experts said Wednesday.
Nowak, a captain and 11-year NASA veteran, could face anything from a court-martial and possible prison time to forced retirement.
"Anything done to her is going to ruin her career," said retired Rear Adm. John Hutson, a Navy lawyer who headed its Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1997 to 2000. Like all branches of the service, the Navy has authority to discipline Nowak under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, criminal statutes for armed-forces personnel. It also has the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which already may be gathering evidence against Nowak, 43.
Exactly how the Navy will proceed is unclear. There are unanswered questions about her relationship with fellow astronaut and Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, and what she planned to do to her alleged romantic rival, Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman.
The Navy is not "terribly sympathetic to emotional breakups," Hutson said. "Suck it up or get help. But she's embarrassed the Navy, the astronaut corps, herself, not to mention her family."
A NASA spokesman said Wednesday that the agency does not have a fraternization policy for astronauts because they are on active duty and subject to military regulations.
Five former military lawyers contacted by the Sentinel said Nowak likely would face the charge of "conduct unbecoming an officer" -- a broad offense that can range from improper marital conduct to various criminal offenses -- in addition to other charges.
Oefelein also could face charges if he engaged in improper conduct with Nowak while married. He was divorced in 2005.
The former military lawyers said that, according to what they have seen of the case, Shipman, 30, has done nothing wrong. She is single and stationed at Patrick Air Force Base in Brevard County.
The case has no doubt landed in the laps of the chief of naval operations and top Navy lawyers at the Pentagon, Hutson and other lawyers said. And how they handle discipline in this case could revive the controversy over unequal punishment in the ranks -- known as "different spanks for different ranks."
But in this case, the focus of civilian and military investigations is on Nowak, an astronaut, aerospace engineer and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who joined the elite ranks of NASA in 1996. She also is a mother of three who recently separated from her husband of 19 years.
Among the Navy's options with Nowak, according to ex-military lawyers:
Allow her to retire or resign, which would stop the investigation and enable her to collect a military pension if she qualifies.
Conduct an "Article 15" proceeding known as a "captain's mast." If disciplined in this nonjudicial proceeding conducted by her superiors, she could "end up with a letter of reprimand, a fine and you don't get promoted," Hutson said. "Typically in a case like this, the officer resigns."
Give Nowak a "desk-drawer reprimand," an unofficial probation in which her commander issues a written warning. If the officer rehabilitates herself in a year or two, the document is destroyed.
Launch an "Article 32" investigation, which could lead to a court-martial. If convicted, Nowak could face prison and a dishonorable discharge.
Bruce Smith, a retired Air Force Reserve lawyer and judge who is now a federal administrative-law judge in North Carolina, said he would be surprised if the Navy conducts an informal proceeding such as an Article 15.
"It is embarrassing, but you shouldn't sweep this under the rug," he said. "You should say this is aberrant behavior and it needs to be dealt with."
Even if Nowak is prosecuted in Florida's courts, she still can be tried in military courts without violating the double-jeopardy provisions of the Constitution.
Gary Bagliebter, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer who served 30 years as an Air Force lawyer, said he wouldn't be surprised if the Navy asked Florida prosecutors to consider dropping the case against Nowak so it can be handled solely through military courts.
"Everyone involved is in the military in this case," Bagliebter said.
Jim Leusner can be reached at 407-420-5411 or jleusner@orlandosentinel.com.
"...Oefelein also could face charges if he engaged in improper conduct with Nowak while married. He was divorced in 2005..."
Helical Beam Antennas in 1951
Photograph Number 331-629B
Is this a scene from a corny science fiction movie of the 1950s? It's actually one of the early steps in the evolution of the Deep Space Network.
In 1951, JPL was working on missile development for the U.S. Army. In order to receive data signals from missiles in flight, JPL also developed telemetering ground equipment. The system included these helical antennas as well as receivers, recording equipment, gas-powered generators and batteries for power, and telephones for communication between primary and secondary telemetering sites. All the equipment, including a control room, was installed in trucks so it could be easily transported and set up in the field.
The directional antennas were mounted on top of 35-foot telephone poles. During testing, each antenna was steered using a small wheel, like a ship's wheel, near the bottom of the pole, attached to the antenna by rope.
Next month's Historical Photo will show JPL's progress up to 1956 in the development of tracking antennas.
For more detailed information about the history of JPL, and about the evolution of communication technology, contact the JPL Archives for assistance. [Archival sources: Photo albums and indexes, History Collection documents 3-40 and 3-124.]
But if she pleads to some of the serious charges and gets some jail time in the civilian system, there will be no court-martial. Instead an Administrative Board will convene to consider separating her based on the conviction PLUS the other, uniquely military violations. The recommendations of that Board will be ruled on by the SecNavy, and could go anything from dismissal with no retirement, to retirement at a lower grade (probably 0-5 since that is the last grade she served honorably in).
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