Word: nowak
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Give the folks at NASA this much - they know how to close ranks. Astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak was arrested this week and charged with attempted murder after driving 900 miles from Houston to Orlando, Fla., allegedly carrying a knife, a BB gun, pepper spray, latex gloves and rubber tubing-wearing a diaper all the while so she wouldn't have to stop en route-and assaulting a romantic rival in a parking lot. After all that, NASA spokesman James Hartsfield assured the press: "Her status as an astronaut is currently unchanged." If crazy doesn't get you bumped from...
...supposed to let loose screws through. Is NASA not as good at this as we thought? Are astronauts more destructible souls than they seem? And what does all this say about the weight-bearing ability of any human mind when the load grows too great? Whatever burdens Nowak was carrying, when she crashed, she crashed hard. A veteran of a single shuttle flight, she had developed what she later told police was "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship" with William Oefelein, 41, a divorced astronaut who flew in space in December. Unfortunately for Nowak, Oefelein...
...Shipman was planning to fly into Orlando late Sunday, and apparently Nowak decided to confront her there and embarked on the long drive from Houston to Florida with the alleged cache of weapons and now much snickered-about diaper. Wearing a dark wig, glasses and a trench coat, police said, she was waiting when Shipman's flight landed after 1 a.m. on Monday, and followed her to the parking lot. After Shipman got into her car and closed the door, Nowak supposedly appeared at the window, pleading for a ride or the use of a cell phone...
...today everything is public, and in the tut-tut world of expos? journalism, astronauts-particularly women-misbehave at their peril. Nowak's NASA bio includes a seemingly focus-group-tested list of 10 wholesome hobbies, such as running, skeet shooting and raising African violets-pastimes somewhat at odds with a 900-mile pursuit in a wig and diapers. For now, Nowak will have time to return to those hobbies: NASA has placed her on a 30-day leave. The space agency will move beyond this episode but has already publicly resolved to keep a closer eye on-and take better...
...make sure an astronaut with the right stuff does not go wrong? NASA has been urged in the past to consider more psychological testing for its star adventurers, but critics say the agency has resisted. Now, the Lisa Nowak affair has prompted NASA to announce it will conduct a review of its psychological testing procedures for astronauts...