A U.S. astronaut accused of trying to kidnap a romantic rival in a love triangle was ordered released on bail Tuesday.
U.S. Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak, 43, was arrested Monday on charges including battery and attempted kidnapping.
Orange County Circuit Judge Mike Murphy found probable cause for the charge of attempted kidnapping and ordered her to wear a satellite-tracking device so authorities could monitor her whereabouts.
Murphy told Nowak she could be released on US$15,500 bond under the condition she has no contact with the alleged victim.
Nowak, a married flight engineer with three children, faces charges including attempted kidnapping, attempted vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery.
Police say Nowak drove from her Houston home to the Orlando International Airport to confront Colleen Shipman, a woman she believed was a rival for the affections of Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein.
Oefelein was a pilot during space shuttle Discovery's trip to the space station last December.
In a taped statement given to police, Nowak described her connection to Oefelein as "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship."
The arrest affidavit says that when she found out that Shipman was flying to Orlando from Houston, Nowak decided to confront her.
Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers so she wouldn't have to stop to urinate, authorities said.
Dressed in a dark wig, glasses and a trench coat, Nowak boarded an airport bus that Shipman took to her car in an airport parking lot.
Shipman told police she noticed someone following her, hurried inside the car and locked the doors, according to the arrest affidavit.
Nowak tapped on the window, tried to open the car door and asked for a ride.
Shipman refused but rolled down the car window a few centimetres when Nowak started crying. Nowak then sprayed a chemical into Shipman's car that burned her eyes, the affidavit said.
Shipman drove away and called the police at about 3:50 a.m., the affidavit says.
Shipman told authorities she had been followed from the airport to a parking lot by a woman wearing a trench coat with a hood pulled over her head.
An officer who followed Nowak spotted her throw away a bag containing the wig and BB gun, police said.
Authorities also say they found a steel mallet, a 10-centimetre folding knife, rubber tubing, trash bags and US$600 inside a bag Nowak was carrying when she was arrested.
Inside Nowak's vehicle, which was parked at a nearby motel, authorities uncovered a pepper spray package, an unused BB-gun cartridge, latex gloves and emails between Shipman and Oefelein.
They also discovered directions to Shipman's house and receipts indicating Nowak paid only in cash during her trip from Houston, including for her hotel stay.
They also found Shipman's home address and hand written directions to the address, the arrest affidavit said.
In her statement to police, Nowak said she did not intend to physically harm Shipman, but only wanted to scare Shipman into talking with her.
"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 Sgt. 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.''
Nowak could face a maximum of life in prison if convicted of attempted kidnapping.
According to NASA's official biography, Nowak is married with three children.
During her 13-day mission on shuttle Discovery in July she operated the robotic arm during three spacewalks.
Oefelein is unmarried. He piloted the space shuttle Discovery in December as part of a separate mission that continued construction on the International Space Station.
He has two children, according to a NASA biography.
The Orlando Sentinel described Shipman as a captain in the U.S. Air Force assigned to the 45th Launch Support Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base, near the Kennedy Space Center.
Nowak and Oefelein trained together but never flew together.
Nowak's status with the astronaut corps remained unchanged as of Monday, said NASA spokesman James Hartsfield in Houston.
"What will happen beyond that, I will not speculate,'' he said.
With files from The Associated Press
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