Lust in Space

I don't even know what to think. I do feel sorry for her kids and husband. What a mess she has brought them into.

I find the whole situation very sad, but I don't think that it's anything NASA missed, necessarily. She did suffer loss when her classmates were aboard Columbia, and being in a job where you're with your coworkers more than your spouse and kids would make it more likely for some extramarital activities to take place. The stresses of the job, of losing those classmates, of having an affair, of losing that affair partner to another woman all were more than enough to send her over the deep end. Does that mean I condone what she did, not in the least, but it does mean I understand it a little. Have I ever been that crazy? No, but flip the situation and let some woman try to steal my hubby from me, and then we'll see. ;-)

Several of my friends are wondering exactly how/why she utilized the diapers... were they simply between gas stops and changed? was it one shot all 900 miles? was she wearing them so she wouldn't leave her hostage once she got her?

I think it's really sad - and I'm glad no one was killed.

According to what I believe was a NASA rep, astronauts go through extensive psychological testing and often. But I guess you can't predict someone doing something like this. Someone else on the show I was watching speculated that it's possible that drugs are involved and they could have made her behave in ways she normally wouldn't.

I'm sad for all involved --even her. For someone to do something like this, they have to be suffering from something --mental illness, drug addiction, etc.

i feel bad for herfamily, but one question, hy was she having an affair in the first place?? thats just wrong.i hope her (EX) husband and children will learn to move on with their life without her, they dont that kind of drama in there lives.god bles the kids.

I don't think she had an affair. She claimed that the relationship was emotional, but not at an romantic level.

As a mental health worker I feel that Ms. Novak was suffering from a break with reality that probably was brought on by stress. We don't know the whole story of her obsession with the "other" woman, but when someone is seriously mentally ill it can cause all types of illogical actions. As far as the suggested affair it may have not been an affair at all, simply part of her psychotic break. Mental Illness is present in one out of 5 of us and some times things like depression and stress can cause the brain to actually believe false feelings. There is so much stigma attached to seeking help for mental health problems that those who should seek help stay away from the treatment that could prevent these kinds of events. I'm sure that Ms Novak would not seek help if she needed it for fear she would lose her status as an astronaut. I hope she gets treatment and that her family recognizes her illness and doesn't abandon her in her time of need. I'm sure her career is finished which in itself will be hard on her.

Thank you Mary for your insight into mental illness. We judge people too severely and don't believe that our mental state is the basis for all that we do. We all have the capacity to do or to snap at any moment.

Let's quit all the analytical BS and just look at the facts. As a woman who was cheated on very recently, I think it's safe to say that this was a case of temporary insanity. "Love" does strange things to people. No, I did not go out and "get" the other woman in my situation, but I thought about it and I also have had some pretty "crazy" thoughts since I found out. Yes, it's sad for her children and husband, but I think that it's clear that she simply was not thinking of them, period. She had a one track mind at the point that she decided to do what she did and all of the other stuff aside husband, kids, astronaut or not; she felt jilted, threatened for whatever reason. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." I'm not saying it's right what she did, but until more comes to light... Wars were fought over lovers, people kill "for love." I know it's more fun to speculate though. ;)

Amanda, I think there is a huge difference between having some pretty "crazy" thoughts and actually acting on them. I believe everyone at some time has had thoughts of hurting someone else or doing something they normally wouldn't think of. But the difference is whether we act on those thoughts or not. For her to act so completely crazy says to me she has had some kind of mental breakdown. This comes from experience with a partner who suffered from depression and did and said things that when he's not depressed wouldn't even consider doing...and feels shame and remorse at those things. Simply...he has been two completely different people.

Why isn't anyone asking what part Mr. Astronaut played in this affair gone WAY wrong? She is in the middle of a divorce. Not the time to be announcing to the world you have been involved with another man.

Although Nowak isn't as young as Amy Fisher was when she shot Mary Jo Buttafucco, she probably was in a similar state of mind when she went after Shipman. I doubt that either woman really wanted to commit murder. They both probably just wanted to eliminate a rival. When a woman falls hopelessly in love with a man, knowing full well she will never have him all to herself, because he is involved with another woman, be it through marriage or dating, she may become lonely, alienated from others, irrational, and she may begin to act like nothing she does matters, even if it is criminal. Most people fortunately do not choose criminal action to express their misery. Nowak probably has no animosity towards Shipman, but is probably so miserable due to being unable to get the love she craves, to the point that she probably would have killed herself if she had not been apprehended by the cops. She obviously wanted Shipman to know how greatly she was hurting. Fortunately, she was unable to hurt Shipman more seriously.

I was shocked when I found out that the woman who did that was the daughter-in-law of one of my moms closest friends and former coworker! I know the whole family, and my heart really goes out to them to have to deal with something as bizarre and frankly emotionally traumatizing as this.

The diaper thing sounds weird but I read it is common for astronauts to wear diapers at launch because of the long time that they are in their spacecraft going through pre-flight checks.

For her, she was using them to avoid having to make pit-stops.

What happened to Ms. Nowak is really unfortunate. Being in the aerospace engineering field myself I have a good idea of the amount of hard work she had to put in to build a career in NASA of such caliber. As a professional and a woman she reached a level I can only envy. My heart goes out to her and her family in such a difficult time. I hope that she gets all the help and support that she needs. I also hope her accomplishments will not be forgotten because of what clearly was a severe mental breakdown.

This is just a sad situation all around. I do agree that we have no place to judge her, only hope that she can get the help that she needs. And what role DID this guy play in the whole matter? Thats what I wonder...

Unfortunately I understand the temporary lapse of all judgement when faced with a situation like this. I too felt the despirate need to confront my cheating lover and lost all ability to reason. I am a computer scientist, but education doesn't matter in this situation. I totally lost it. I am ashamed of my actions (almost 20 years ago) and I still don't understand what happened, but that one time in my life, I went crazy. He wasn't worth it! Don't judge her unless you've been there!

This is a woman who's professional life is now in the past and all that is remembered is this completely bizarre behavior. How sad to have worked your whole life and have all the people around you make such sacrifices and this is what it comes to.

She's selfish and inconsiderate, I have no synpathy for her CRAZY antics. Shje almost killed a woman over a man she wasn't even with. I say lock her up. Period.

I think it's hillarious, her family must be so embarassed though, she should deffo be locked up, psycho, but at least she gave us all a laugh.

The saddest thing to come out of this so far is the over-reaction of NASA on their ability to screen out mental health issues. Susceptibility to a crime of passion is not easily detected ahead of time and can afflict anyone regardless of education, status, income or family situation. It's not excusable but it is different enough from most other crimes to allow special consideration in a court of law in many countries. The lady is mad, if only temporarily, and needs to be judged. But the event is entirely circumstantial and does not make her a pyschopath, nor a bad astronaut.

Remember, the woman hasn't been convicted yet. Do we really know all the information about what happened. What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'.
I know that I was completely irrational before my first divorce. That was what woke me up to the fact that I needed to get help both professionally and a divorce before I did something I would always be sorry for later.

The recent reports say that she and her husband were recently separated, so they may not have even been together at the time of this incident (they didn't specify how recent the split was). I think it's very sad that she felt the need to act on her feelings, whatever those feelings were, in such a premeditated way as to wear diapers so she wouldn't have to stop and to take a series of items along which make it seem as though she were intending to knock out her enemy, cut her up into pieces, and stick her in garbage bags (not something anybody stated, just an assumption based on the items they said she was caught disposing of - and I know what they say about never assuming anything, lol, but I'm not on the jury, nor will I be, so I'll assume a lot here, lol). I do think it something of an oversight that NASA does all this rigorous training but yet doesn't "pry into the private lives of astronauts" ??