In 2007, a shocking story hit the news and late-night talk show monologues, and eventually became the basis for a new movie. "Lucy in the Sky," opening Oct. 4, is loosely based on astronaut Lisa Nowak, who is famous not for her space missions but for driving from Houston to Orlando to Confronted by a woman who is dating a man with whom she once had an affair. (She may have done it all while wearing an adult diaper, but Novak's lawyers disputed that particular, high-profile topic.)
With Natalie Portman playing a character inspired by the former astronaut, the once-ubiquitous news is back in the spotlight. So where is Novak? Someone in her position might have written a tell-all, or produced a true crime special. But Novak went very far in the other direction.
Nowak is a U.S. Navy captain who began working at NASA in 1996. Ten years later, in 2006, she flew to the International Space Station on her only mission.
Nowak had an affair with a fellow astronaut (but not an astronaut on the mission) Bill Oefelein, and in February 2007, Novak met his new girlfriend Colleen at Orlando International Airport Colleen Shipman was arrested after a confrontation. Nowak drove nearly 1,000 miles from Houston to Orlando, carrying a BB gun, a knife and a mallet, among other items, ABC News reported. She walked to Shipman's car and sprayed pepper spray through the window, but Shipman was able to escape. Shipman later said she believed Nowak wanted to kill her.
Nowak was arrested and charged with two felonies - attempted kidnapping and burglary - and misdemeanor battery. She was also charged with attempted murder, but prosecutors dropped that charge shortly after her arrest, the Houston Chronicle reported. In 2009, Novak pleaded guilty to felony theft and misdemeanor assault, and her plea deal meant she was sentenced to two days in jail (dismissed for time served), one year of probation and 50 hours of community service.
Nowak's work with NASA was terminated a month after her arrest. A statement on NASA's website reads: "NASA is requesting closure details because the agency lacks the administrative tools to appropriately handle the pending criminal charges against Nowak. Because Nowak is a NASA assigned "As a naval officer of the agency, not a NASA civil servant, she is not subject to NASA's administrative actions."
In 2011, the U.S. Navy gave Nowak an "other than honorable" discharge and she was demoted from captain to commander, NBC News reported. After the sentencing, Nowak remained employed as the chief of the Naval Air Training Station in Corpus Christi, Texas, while the Navy made its decision against her.
The latest news about Novak comes from a 2017 article in People magazine. The magazine reported that Nowak lived in "a modest home in Texas" and worked in the private sector. It was also reported that she was not granting interviews and was trying to put her past behind her. In 2016, her attorney told the publication, "She's doing great." Today, Novak is 56 years old. She has three children: a 27-year-old son and 18-year-old twin daughters.
As for Oefelein and Shipman, they married in 2010, moved to Alaska, and had a child. Like Novak, they both served in the military, but as of 2017, they ran a website called Adventurewrite.com, which hosted a children's writing contest. In addition, Shipman is a novelist. "A lot of people ask, 'Do you forgive Lisa Novak for what she did?'" Shipman told People in 2016. "She committed a crime, she was convicted, she served her sentence. "I'm not sure there's anything I can truly forgive. "
