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Even before she was charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted kidnapping and three other crimes, there were signs that not everything was right in her life UNTIL a few months ago, Lisa Nowak’s life seemed to be on a perfect trajectory. She became an astronaut after winning a series of Navy service awards. She had flown on the shuttle Discovery, and was a mother of three children. She said in a September interview with Ladies Home Journal that her husband, Richard, “works in Mission Control, so he’s part of the whole space business, too. And supportive also.” But even...

Did huge career pressures aid astronaut's undoing? 16:39 07 February 2007 NewScientist.com news service Kathleen M Wong The family of Lisa Nowak says her alleged attempt to kidnap and murder a woman she considered her romantic rival was 'completely out of character' (Image: NASA) US astronaut Lisa Nowak's fall from grace – she is accused of trying to kidnap and kill a woman she considered a rival for the affections of a fellow astronaut – has raised a plethora of unanswered questions from a shocked public. Chief among them: how someone who passed the stringent psychological screening required to become...

Strong feelings of passion, jealousy can give even most rational astronaut a blind spot of craziness, experts say - This will make a great movie -- "Fatal Attraction From Outer Space." The strange saga of Lisa Marie Nowak, a NASA astronaut who drove 900 miles from Texas to Florida, wearing diapers, to confront the woman she thought was romancing the astronaut she loved, sounds like science fiction. Not only is it true, but at least some psychologists say it makes a kind of weird sense. "This is love gone wrong," says Dr. Louann Brizendine, author of "The Female Brain" and...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- On July Fourth, Independence Day, Lisa Nowak triumphantly lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center aboard shuttle Discovery. On Tuesday, 57 miles from the launch pad, she stood before a judge and wore shackles and a blue prisoner uniform. The married mother of three was charged Tuesday with attempted murder, accused of hatching an extraordinary plot to kidnap Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, who she believed was her rival for the affections of space shuttle pilot William Oefelein. Nowak had been charged Monday with attempted kidnapping and other counts. But after two appearances in court and worldwide...