American astronaut and captain in the United States Navy. She became an astronaut for NASA in 1996 and qualified as a mission specialist in robotics. Nowak flew her first mission into space onboard the Space Shuttle during mission STS-121 in July 2006. She was responsible for operating the robotic arms of the shuttle and the International Space Station.
On February 5, 2007 Nowak was arrested in Orlando, Florida and subsequently charged with the attempted murder of U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman. Nowak was released on bail, pleaded "not guilty" to the charges and requested a trial by jury.
The Orlando Police said Nowak had disguised herself during the assault by wearing a hooded tan trench coat and black wig and, along with the BB gun, was carrying a four-inch folding buck knife, a new steel mallet, black gloves, rubber tubing, plastic garbage bags and about US$600 in cash. In her statement to police, Nowak said she wanted to talk to Shipman and discuss their relationships with Oefelein. When asked if she thought the pepper spray was going to help her talking with Shipman, she replied, "That was stupid." During a search of Nowak's car parked at a motel, the police found a letter written by Nowak which they said "indicated how much Mrs. Nowak loved Mr. Oefelein," along with latex gloves, opened packages for both a buck knife and pepper spray, an unused BB cartridge, handwritten directions to Shipman's house, copies of e-mails from Shipman to Oefelein, and diapers.[13] The astronaut explained she had used the latter during the 900-mile (1400-km) drive from her home in Houston, Texas to Orlando so she did not have to stop to urinate (U.S. shuttle astronauts wear specially designed diapers during launch and re-entry).
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