Orlando (Florida): NASA officials said on Wednesday it will review psychological screening assessments of astronauts after the recent arrest of Lisa Nowak, who is charged with attempted first degree murder.
The space agency will determine if there are "lessons to be learned" from the incident involving Nowak and determine if modifications need to be made, according to NASA deputy administrator Shana Dale.
Dale told a news conference that NASA would review criteria for screening astronauts for the program and look at how often they are evaluated throughout their career.
They also will review procedures to determine if any changes need to be made.
Astronaut Nowak was taken to the Johnson Space Center in Houston Wednesday for a medical evaluation, which would also include a psychological evaluation, NASA said.
Nowak flew home to Houston on Wednesday morning, a day after she appeared in court in Orlando, Florida, to face charges including the attempted murder of a romantic rival.
NASA said she went straight from the airport in Houston to the Johnson Space Center. "She's not staying here. She's leaving with her family," a NASA spokeswoman said.
As friends and strangers tried to imagine what could have caused her apparent meltdown, a few clues emerged.
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A family statement said Nowak had recently separated from her husband of 19 years, who works at NASA Mission Control. They have a teenage son and young twin daughters.
There had been signs of problems before Nowak's arrest. In November, police were called to Nowak's home near the Johnson Space Center after a neighbor reported hearing the sounds of dishes being thrown inside.
Nowak, a Navy captain, is accused of accosting 30-year-old Air Force Capt Colleen Shipman, in the parking lot of Orlando International Airport early Monday and attacking her with pepper spray. She told police she only wanted to talk with Shipman.
Nowak and Shipman were both "in a relationship" with Navy Cmdr Bill Oefelein, another astronaut, according to a police report of the incident.
Nowak told police her relationship with Oefelein was "more than a working relationship and less than a romantic relationship."
Shipman has filed for a restraining order on Nowak in Brevard County, Florida, where Shipman lives and works, according to a copy of the order on the county's Web site.
In the paperwork for the order, Shipman said that Nowak had been stalking her for the past two months.
Her handwritten petition says she has known Nowak since Monday at "approx 0345" and adds Nowak is an "acquaintance of boyfriend."
A hearing for the order is scheduled for February 20.
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Nowak helped my son: Friend
Jonathan Clark, a friend of Nowak and her husband, appearing on CNN's American Morning, called Nowak "a wonderful, good, caring person" who "was a mother before she was an astronaut."
Clark is a former NASA flight surgeon whose wife, Laurel Clark, was among the astronauts killed in the Columbia disaster in 2003.
Nowak helped his son, Ian, cope with the anguish of losing his mother, Clark said.
"Lisa just stepped right in there with us. Obviously, my son losing his mom had this tremendous void in his life," Clark said. "It was just a wonderful thing, you could just see a smile on his face whenever he was around her,” she added.
"All of the female astronauts who are moms have a common bond there," Clark said. "This is a high-risk endeavor and they're almost torn between being a mom and being a career astronaut,” he added.
Nowak, who has been an astronaut since 1996, flew her first shuttle mission in July, serving as a mission specialist aboard the Discovery. She and crewmate Stephanie Wilson were known as "the robochicks" because of their work with the shuttle's robotic
arm.
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Grounded
NASA grounded Nowak for 30 days on Tuesday.
Michael Coats, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, issued a statement saying Nowak "is officially on 30-day leave and has been removed from flight status and all mission-related activities."
"We are deeply saddened by this tragic event. The charges against Lisa Nowak are serious ones that must be decided by the judicial system," the statement said.
A NASA spokeswoman said Wednesday that Oefelein had flown to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and was cooperating with investigators.
Family shocked
Nowak's family released their statement from their home in Rockville in Maryland.
"Lisa is an extremely caring and dedicated mother to her three children. She has been married for 19 years, although she and her husband had separated a few weeks ago," the statement said.
"Considering both her personal and professional life, these alleged events are completely out of character and have come as a tremendous shock to our family," the statement said.
"We hope that the public will keep an open mind about what the facts will eventually show and that the legal system will be allowed to run its course,” the statement said.
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