The NASA Astronaut Who Tried To Murder Her Secret Lover's Girlfriend

Lisa Nowak was just 6 years old when she watched the Apollo 11 moon landing and decided she wanted to become an astronaut - somthing that would become a life-long dream.

After high school, she enrolled in the United States Naval Academy, where she trained as an aerospace engineer and in 1996, Lisa joined NASA, where she met and fell in love with fellow astronaut Richard Nowak.

The couple married, moved to Texas, and went on to have three children together.

In January 2004, Lisa participated in an 11-day survival training course alongside fellow astronaut William Oefelein, who was also married at the time.

Upon returning to Houston, Lisa and William began a passionate extramarital affair but by May 2005, William’s wife had discovered the relationship and promptly filed for divorce.

William continued his relationship with Lisa, even giving her a key to his apartment. Obsessed and hoping for a serious, lasting relationship, Lisa was devastated when, in January 2007, William ended things to be with 30-year-old U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman.

Jilted and desperate to reconcile with her former lover, Lisa used her spare key to enter William’s apartment and discovered passionate emails exchanged between him and Colleen.

When she learned that her romantic rival was scheduled to fly to Orlando on 5th February 2007, Lisa decided it was time for a “heart-to-heart”—though her intentions were far more sinister.

Fueled by fury and heartbreak, Lisa proceeded to drive 1,000 miles from Houston to Orlando International Airport, even wearing a diaper to avoid stopping along the way.

When she finally arrived at 1am, she spotted Colleen at the baggage carousel. In a scene that seemed ripped from a psychological thriller, Lisa - donning a wig and an oversized trench coat, then trailed her unsuspecting rival to her car.

Lisa tapped on the driver’s side window and asked Colleen for a ride, claiming her boyfriend hadn’t arrived. Suspicious, Colleen declined but offered to call for help. As she began rolling up the window, Lisa suddenly unleashed a violent attack, spraying her with pepper spray.

Colleen managed to drive away and immediately called the police, leading to Lisa’s arrest.

In Lisa’s car, authorities found pepper spray, a knife, gloves, a steel mallet, a BB gun, and a stack of printed emails between William and Colleen.

Lisa ultimately pleaded guilty to burglary and misdemeanour battery. She was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to write an apology letter to Colleen.

In the aftermath, Colleen and William moved to Alaska, got married, and welcomed a son.

Struggling with night terrors, dizziness, and panic attacks stemming from Lisa’s attack, Colleen channelled her trauma into her a writing, becoming a successful literary agent and fiction author, writing under the pen name C.M. McCoy.

Meanwhile, things didn’t turn out well for Lisa. She became the first on-duty astronaut to face felony charges, lost her coveted position at NASA, was demoted in the Navy, and her husband Richard filed for divorce. It’s striking how a woman once celebrated for her intelligence and impressive accomplishments earned the infamous nickname “The Astro-Nut."

After struggling to find employment following the incident, Lisa relocated to Texas, where she now leads a quiet life and works in the private sector.