Astronaut flown to NASA for evaluation

Police charged Nowak with attempting to murder Colleen Shipman based on weapons and other items found with Nowak or in her car: pepper spray, a BB-gun, a new steel mallet, knife and rubber tubing.

“We believe that the items that we found certainly would have caused Colleen Shipman serious bodily injury or death,” Orlando Police Sgt. Barb Jones said. That was enough for probable cause, she said. The state, which has the burden of proving a case beyond a reasonable doubt, will decide on the formal charges to pursue.

Nowak’s lawyer, Donald Lykkebak, took issue with the most serious charge against her, saying: “In the imaginations of the police officers, they extend these facts out into areas where the facts can’t be supported.”

Nowak posted $25,500 bail Tuesday evening. A tracking device was placed on her ankle as a condition of her release, and the judge ordered her to stay away from Shipman.

NASA also put her on a 30-day leave and removed her from mission activities.

NBC VIDEO Date with Discovery July 13: MSNBC's Chris Jansing reviews the shuttle Discovery's mission and the risks of spaceflight with Discovery astronauts Mike Fossum and Lisa Nowak. MSNBC

In court Tuesday in Florida, Shipman filed a request for a protective order against Nowak, asking that Nowak be prohibited from going within 500 feet of her. In the handwritten request, she described Nowak as “acquaintance of boyfriend,” but did not identify the man. She said Nowak had stalked her for two months.

Nowak and Oefelein, who both live in the Houston area, had trained together as astronauts, but never flew into space together. Shipman works at Patrick Air Force Base near Kennedy Space Center.

Earlier, Nowak was quoted by police as saying she and Oefelein had something “more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship.”

Police found a letter in Nowak’s car, however, that “indicated how much Mrs. Nowak loved Mr. Oefelein,” an arrest affidavit said. And Nowak had copies of e-mails between Shipman and Oefelein.

Oefelein flew to Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday where he is “voluntarily cooperating with authorities,” NASA spokeswoman Jessica Rye said Wednesday. She said the 41-year-old Navy commander, nicknamed “Billy-O” by his colleagues, wasn’t granting interviews to reporters.

Shipman, a 30-year-old engineer assigned to the 45th Launch Support Squadron, could not be reached for comment.

Nowak’s home was unlit Tuesday, and her husband could not be located.

“Personally, Lisa is an extremely caring and dedicated mother to her three children,” a statement from Nowak’s family 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.”

Nowak, accustomed to wearing astronaut diapers during the space shuttle’s launch and return to Earth, wore them on the drive from Houston so she would not have to make bathroom stops as she raced to confront Shipman at the Orlando International Airport, police said.

Then, according to police, Nowak donned a wig and trench coat, boarded an airport shuttle bus with Shipman and followed her to her car. Crying, Nowak sprayed a chemical into the car. Shipman drove to a parking lot booth for help.

A police affidavit made public Tuesday said Nowak had “stealthily followed the victim while in disguise and possessed multiple deadly weapons.”

The affidavit said the circumstances of the case “create a well-founded fear” and gave investigators “probable cause to believe that Mrs. Nowak intended to murder Ms. Shipman.”

Lykkebak said that Nowak only wanted to talk to Shipman. Asked about the weapons, he said, “You can sit and speculate all day.”

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