Astronaut Gets Astronaughty

Humans are just weird sometimes. Over at the Guardian is a story about a US astronaut who has been charged with kidnapping and other offences. Apparently Lisa Nowak drove over 900 miles to confront another woman about her relationship with a male astronaut. An extract:

Police said Ms Nowak drove from her home in Houston to Orlando international airport - wearing nappies so she would not have to stop to urinate - to confront Colleen Shipman.

"If you were just going to talk to someone, I don't know that you would need a wig, a trench coat, an air cartridge BB gun and pepper spray," said Sergeant Barbara Jones, a spokeswoman for the Orlando police department. "It's just really a very sad case ... Now she ends up finding herself on the other side of the law with some very serious charges."

If convicted of attempted kidnapping, Ms Nowak could face a maximum of life in prison.

Unlike the crew of the Challenger and Columbia shuttles, Ms Nowak had the opportunity to go into space and come back safely. It seems a shame that she could now spend the rest of her life inside the four walls of a prison cell because of an error in judgement. Beware an astronaut scored.