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Steamy E-Mails Highlight NASA Love Triangle
abcnews.go.com ^ | 03/06/07 | GINA SUNSERI

Posted on 03/06/2007 8:28:42 AM PST by Ellesu

NASA Astronaut Lisa Nowak Collected E-mails Sent between Former Lover Bill Oefelein and His New Girlfriend:

March 6, 2007 — - NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak carried printouts of romantic e-mails between her former boyfriend, space shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein, and his new girlfriend when she drove roughly 900 miles in an alleged attempt to abduct the girlfriend in early February, according to police evidence released Monday.

The steamy e-mail exchanges were sent back and forth between Oefelein and Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman -- including at least one received while Oefelein was on a shuttle mission last December.

The evidence offered insight into the bizarre behavior of Nowak, who viewed Shipman as a romantic rival and has been charged with attempted kidnapping and burglary with assault after an encounter with Shipman in a Florida airport parking lot.

In one e-mail, Shipman wrote, "Will have to control myself when I see you, first the urge will be to rip your clothes off, throw you on the ground, and love the hell out of you."

The e-mails were included in documents released late Monday by the Orange Osceola State Attorney's office in Florida.

Lisa Nowak apparently discovered the e-mails after she used a key she kept to let herself into Oefelein's Houston apartment and log on to his computer. Police said they found printed copies of some of the e-mails when they arrested Nowak at the Orlando International Airport in February.

A Love Triangle Revealed

The evidence also details a love affair between Nowak and Oefelein that he thought was over. Nowak, however, did not.

Oefelein told police he had an affair with Nowak, a 43-year-old married mother of three, that lasted "for some time." The two had worked together on several projects at the Johnson Space Center and belonged to the same bicycling team.

Oefelein met Shipman at the Kennedy Space Center last fall while he was training for STS 116. He continued to date Nowak even while he became involved with Shipman, according to his statement to investigators with the Orlando Police Department.

Shipman thought she and Oefelein were exclusive.

"He told me he had a relationship with a lady that he works with and that the relationship was over, and he had told that lady that the relationship was over," Shipman told the police. "I asked him if he made it clear to her that it was over and he said, 'Yes.'"

When asked by police if Oefelein ever mentioned having problems with Nowak, Shipman replied, "I asked him, 'Are you sure that she's OK with this? Because you know how these things go?' and I said, 'Is there gonna be some crazy lady showing up at my door trying to kill me?' And he said, 'No, no, no, she's not like that. She's fine with it. She's happy for me.'"

Possible Life Sentence

Nowak faces the possibility of life in prison if she is convicted of all the charges.

She was arrested early in February after driving from Houston to Orlando, allegedly to stalk Shipman. Nowak wore a diaper on the drive so she wouldn't have to make bathroom stops, and she disguised herself in a trench coat and a wig to keep Shipman from recognizing her.

According to Orlando Police Department reports, security cameras at the Orlando International Airport tracked Nowak as she followed Shipman through the airport before approaching her in the parking lot. She allegedly sprayed a chemical into Shipman's car before police apprehended her.

The pages of e-mails Nowak was carrying at the time of the arrest showed how quickly the relationship between Oefelein and Shipman had heated up.

Oefelein wrote, "You must really have me around your finger that I can't even function without you here, and with you here I am slightly smarter than a slug."

Shipman wrote, "The thought of you without clothes is pretty nice."

It's easy to see why Nowak thought she had been jilted. But was Oefelein really finished with Nowak? Shipman apparently had some doubts.

"We went to a club in Houston, then we came home and we had a few drinks. We were laying in bed, and he called me 'Lisa,'" she told Orlando police in a statement.

Risking It All for Love and Jealousy

It is still difficult for many of Lisa Nowak's friends to understand why such a shy, smart and talented woman risked her her family and her career as a Navy test pilot for an affair with a fellow astronaut.

Dr. Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon is one of Nowak's biggest supporters. His wife Laurel was one of the seven astronauts who died when the shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas in 2003. He told ABC News last month that he would stand with Nowak as long as she needed him.

"She put off the needs of her own family to help us through this. I feel that if people really knew the amount of sacrifice that she made to take care of us, it would give a different light in the circumstances that exist now," Clark said.

The documents released Monday suggest that she planned the cross-country drive meticulously. She printed out directions from the Web site Mapquest that said, "977 miles from NASA Road One to Orlando International Airport."

Detectives found 30 unused diapers in her car, as well as a receipt for a night in a motel room on the road, which she paid for in cash and checked in to under the name "Linda Turner."

Police also found the rope and a knife in Nowak's car, plus a list of supplies she packed for her alleged confrontation with Shipman. Also included was a receipt for $3.72 for a tall Mocha coffee from Starbucks while she waited for Shipman in the airport.

Nowak also wrote a plaintive note to Oefelein's mother.

"Since my parents are not as supportive right now, it really means a lot to me to have another Mom to turn to. Thank you so much for being there for me, Love, Lisa".

Another letter in her notebook shows how deep her feelings were for Oefelein: "Bill is absolutely the best person I've ever known and I love him more than I ever knew possible. Fortunately, that past situation is coming to an end… and I am in the process of completing all of the official divorce paperwork."

Nowak's 30 days medical leave from her job as an astronaut are up on Thursday.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: astronaut; astronut; billoefelein; colleenshipman; emails; horbit; lisanowak; nasa; nowak; spaceslut
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To: Ellesu

Nice break from Ann Coulter stories


21 posted on 03/06/2007 8:53:37 AM PST by NRA1995 (They should've shredded Saddam Hussein...)
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To: NRA1995

Yep. A while back I read that a TV movie is already being planned.


22 posted on 03/06/2007 8:57:18 AM PST by Dante3
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To: Tijeras_Slim
Inspiration for Men in Black's Jeebs?


23 posted on 03/06/2007 8:57:51 AM PST by T.Smith
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To: Tijeras_Slim

LMAO!!!


24 posted on 03/06/2007 8:58:47 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: Ellesu

Someone better than me at lyrics needs to do an I will survive parody...

And I learned how to get along
and so you're back
from outer space
I just flew out to find you here
spraying pepper spray upon my face
I should have changed that stupid flight
I should have made him change his key
If I had known for just one second
you'd be back to bother me


25 posted on 03/06/2007 9:00:11 AM PST by amchugh
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To: Tijeras_Slim

Now there's an astronaut who likes his Tang.


26 posted on 03/06/2007 9:00:16 AM PST by Joe 6-pack
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To: Joe 6-pack

*snort*


27 posted on 03/06/2007 9:01:42 AM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: CholeraJoe

-really.


28 posted on 03/06/2007 9:02:27 AM PST by tioga
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To: Joe 6-pack
Now there's an astronaut who likes his Tang.

Heheheh, that one made me snort coffee. Thanks for the good laugh on a lousy morning.

29 posted on 03/06/2007 9:05:58 AM PST by RepoGirl ("Tom, I'm getting dead from you, but I'm not getting Un-dead..." -- Frasier Crane)
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To: Joe 6-pack
Now there's an astronaut who likes his Tang.

ROTFLMAO...That's good...very good...

30 posted on 03/06/2007 9:06:24 AM PST by Snardius (Support the troops...slow bleed them to defeat.)
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To: T.Smith

tony shalhoub and this guy are almost dead ringers

31 posted on 03/06/2007 9:14:34 AM PST by Centurion2000 (If you're not being shot at, it's not a high stress job.)
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To: BMIC

Billy-O should have asked Lisa to return his apartment key. Sounds like she snuck into his apartment and got on his computer, and printed out the emails? Maybe she should be charged with breaking and entering?

So Lisa was ready to divorce her husband and marry Billy-O. Meanwhile, Billy-O wanted to have conjugal visits with Lisa while getting hot and heavy with Colleen. He lied to both of them. Now that Colleen knows that he was two-timing her at least at the beginning, will things cool off between the two of them?

When is this thing going to trial?


32 posted on 03/06/2007 9:20:13 AM PST by Abigail Adams
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To: silverleaf

Not to mention pepper-spraying them first.


33 posted on 03/06/2007 9:20:35 AM PST by Dante3
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To: Tijeras_Slim; Ellesu
So...suppose these astro-snugglers are the first memebers of the "100-Mile-High Club"? Another American first?

Go, USA!

34 posted on 03/06/2007 9:21:10 AM PST by SquirrelKing ("When a coin in the carbon pot rings, out of global warming hell a soul does spring." - Timothy Ball)
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To: Ellesu

To which she jumped up and gave the musical answer, "I'm not Lisa. My name is Colleen ..."

... but not the rest "Lisa left you years ago ..."


35 posted on 03/06/2007 9:23:33 AM PST by Rte66
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To: CholeraJoe

R U Serious?


36 posted on 03/06/2007 9:24:31 AM PST by Fawn (http://www.hartzvictims.org/)
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To: Ellesu

Billy O. is so very, very busted. WHAT A CAD, although Lisa shouldn't have been stepping out on her husband. Shipman probably knew in her heart he was a lying creep, but we believe what we want to believe at times, and ignore all evidence to the contrary.


37 posted on 03/06/2007 9:26:21 AM PST by Cecily
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To: Ellesu

The media is obsessing over this. Please, freepers, let them be the only ones who give a flying xxxx about this nonsense!


38 posted on 03/06/2007 9:29:17 AM PST by Leftism is Mentally Deranged
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To: tioga

"-the spaceho story is back on again."

.....that's because America has tired of stupid bimbo stories. It seems Fox/CNN/MSM want to hear about "SMART" bimbos now.


39 posted on 03/06/2007 9:30:25 AM PST by fishtank
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To: Fawn

Yes. There was a thread here yesterday on it. She painted '666' on her forehead and ran around screaming that she was the antichrist! Then she tried to hang herself with a bedsheet. You can't make up stuff like that.


40 posted on 03/06/2007 9:30:27 AM PST by CholeraJoe ("The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord shall be born as the seventh month dies.")
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