NASA Embarrassment Continues
Ah, to be an employee of NASA
these days. Despite delays, the next space shuttle flight is poised
to blast off next month... the agency has had tremendous success
with its unmanned space programs... oh, and then there's that darn
love triangle thing, that they'd be more than happy to forget.
You remember, and ANN reported on
astronaut Lisa Nowak, who drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando
in a diaper-type thing to confront her rival.
At the center of that infamous love triangle-turned-violent was
astronaut Bill Oefelein, an experienced Navy test pilot and fighter
pilot and astronaut. Nearly four months since his personal life
made world-wide headlines, NASA is cutting ties with the 42-year
old, reports the Orlando Sentinel, and astronaut Bill will return
to the military June 1.
A NASA spokesman would not discuss the end of Oefelein's space
career, saying only that it is time for him to return to the
Navy.
"The Navy and NASA mutually agreed to end his detail" with NASA,
agency spokesman Jim Rostohar said at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in
Houston. "NASA determined his detail was no longer necessary."
Oefelein, most recently flew on shuttle Discovery in December
and has been working at various technical assignments at JSC in
recent months, Rostohar said.
Nowak and Oefelein were reportedly engaged in a romantic
relationship for several years. Oefelein informed Nowak late last
year he had chosen to pursue an exclusive relationship with
Shipman, a 30-year-old US Air Force officer stationed at Cape
Canaveral, FL.
Nowak, a married mother
of three, did not take well to being a "former" girlfriend and was
accused of stalking and pepper-spraying Shipman Feb. 5 in a parking
lot at Orlando International Airport. She is facing felony charges
for that attack, during which she allegedly wore a wig and trench
coat when she confronted Shipman.
But back to former astronaut Bill.
Lt. Cmdr. Doug Gabos would not say Friday where Oefelein, who
holds the rank of commander, would be reporting to duty next week,
as the details are still being worked out. Gabos would also not
comment on any disciplinary action that Oefelein might face.
"His case will be reviewed by his new commander, but we're not
going to speculate on any possible outcome of his case," Gabos
said.
A native of Alaska, Oefelein earned a bachelor's degree in
electrical engineering, joined the Navy, and earned his wings as a
naval aviator in 1990. His early assignments included overseas
deployments to the Persian Gulf as a fighter pilot.
After attending TOPGUN, the Navy Fighter Weapons School,
Oefelein graduated in 1995 from the Navy's test-pilot school, where
he later taught. In 1998, he was working as a strike-operations
officer for a carrier wing in Virginia when he received "the call"
that he had been selected to join NASA's astronaut corps.
"A lot of folks who do that test-pilot work also went on to fly
space shuttles," Oefelein said in an interview before his space
voyage. ". . . at that point, it just seemed natural for me to go
to the next phase and try to fly space shuttles."
During his December 12-day mission in space, Oefelein and six
crewmates helped rewire the electrical system aboard the
international space station.
And an update on Lisa Nowak. With a trial set for September,
Nowak faces a possible life sentence on charges of attempted
kidnapping and burglary with an assault.
Military experts say Nowak and Oefelein also could be
court-martialed on a charge of "conduct unbecoming an officer."
Nowak is separated and Oefelein is divorced.