Astronaut accused of crime on space station

[mss]

NASA is examining a claim that astronaut Anne McClain improperly accessed the bank account of her estranged spouse, Summer Worden, while on the International Space Station, reports The New York Times.

    Ms. McClain acknowledged that she had accessed the bank account from space, insisting through a lawyer that she was merely shepherding the couple's still-intertwined finances. Ms. Worden felt differently. She filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and her family lodged one with NASA's Office of Inspector General, accusing Ms. McClain of identity theft and improper access to Ms. Worden's private financial records.

    Investigators from the inspector general's office have since contacted Ms. Worden and Ms. McClain, trying to get to the bottom of what may be the first allegation of criminal wrongdoing in space.

Więcej: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/houston-astronaut-accused-of-hacking-ex-spouse-s-bank-account-from-space

[mss]

Anne McClain @AstroAnnimal 25 min
There’s unequivocally no truth to these claims. We’ve been going through a painful, personal separation that’s now unfortunately in the media. I appreciate the outpouring of support and will reserve comment until after the investigation. I have total confidence in the IG process.

[JSz]

Ta sama informacja po polsku, na Onecie: https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/pierwsze-przestepstwo-w-kosmosie-sledztwo-nasa/vjn4jyk.

[Orionid]

Summer Worden: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know


Summer Worden and Anne McClain with Worden’s son.

https://heavy.com/news/2019/08/summer-worden-anne-mcclain-wife/

[Orionid]

Spokane astronaut Anne McClain in space: ‘I am finally where I was born to be’
By Asia Fields  Seattle Times staff reporter
Originally published December 13, 2018 at 6:00 am Updated December 15, 2018 at 3:09 pm


U.S. astronaut Anne McClain, crew member of the mission to the International Space Station, waves as she boards the rocket prior to the launch of Soyuz-FG rocket at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 3. (AP Photo/Shamil Zhumatov, Pool)


Anne McClain, in quarantine in December, puts her hand up to the glass to greet her mother,  Spokane resident Charlotte Lamp, at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. (Aubrey Gemignani / NASA via AP, file)


U.S. astronaut Anne McClain, a member of the main crew to the International Space Station, interacts with her relatives from a bus before the launch of Soyuz-FG rocket at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 3. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Anne McClain will be closer to her mother in Spokane for the holidays than she’s been for most years since high school — depending on where in orbit the International Space Station (ISS) is.


Spokane native Anne McClain will make history as part of NASA’s first all-female spacewalk at the International Space Station later this month. (NASA, file)

The astronaut has spent most of her time since graduating from Gonzaga Preparatory School in 1997 thousands of miles away from home. To be exact, McClain was 2,600 miles from Spokane when she was studying mechanical and aeronautical engineering at West Point Military Academy and 7,000 miles away when she flew Army helicopters in Iraq.

On the ISS, where her crew docked earlier this month, she’s only a little more than 200 miles above Earth.

“People have asked me, ‘How do you raise an astronaut?’ I say, ‘You don’t. They raise you,'” Charlotte Lamp, McClain’s mother, said in a phone interview. “Right now she can hardly talk, she’s so excited about being in the space station.”

Some mothers might be terrified at the thought of their child going to space, especially after the Soyuz craft that was to carry a crew to the station failed and had to make an abrupt emergency landing in October. But Lamp had already sent her daughter off to war, and this paled in comparison. The former math and science teacher was confident in NASA’s engineering.

Lamp and her family were at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, about a mile and a half away from the Russian Soyuz rocket, for the Dec. 3 launch. When the rocket ignited, a giant ball of fire formed and began to shoot sideways. Lamp was grateful someone told her what to expect. She held her breath and began counting down from 10. From what she heard, if the rocket hadn’t left eight seconds after ignition, the situation was bad.

Right at two, the rocket launched. Lamp let out her breath and watched in awe.

“It vibrates every molecule in your body,” Lamp said. “You can feel the Earth shake.”


The Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz MS-11 space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 3, 2018. The Russian rocket carries U.S. astronaut Anne McClain. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

McClain’s team, Expedition 58, arrived safely at the International Space Station about seven hours after takeoff. The facility will be their home for around six months, where and McClain and her teammates, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques, will conduct investigations in biology, Earth science, human health, physical sciences and technology development, according to NASA. McClain will participate in one of the first Tissues on Chips experiments to study the effects of reduced gravity on organ cells and tissues.

The research will allow scientists to better understand aging and may reveal how to slow it, according to the National Institutes of Health, a partner of the space station’s lab.

While Lamp’s situation is extraordinary, her concerns are not so different from those of other parents with children far away.


Anne McClain, member of the crew of the expedition to the International Space Station, is seen in December during an inspection of her spacesuit before the launch of Soyuz MS-11 in Kazakhstan. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, file)

“We don’t get to just text all day with her. We can’t text. We have an email we can use, but it’s not quite the same,” she said. “And we can’t pick up the phone and call her. We’re kind of waiting for her to call us.”

Lamp had to end a phone interview abruptly because her daughter was calling from space. When Lamp called back, she said she was able to hear McClain’s smile through the phone. McClain told her mom how fun it was to float, although she’s had to learn to slow down so she doesn’t bump into walls.

McClain’s first view of space was a sunrise, which she told her mother was the most beautiful thing she’s seen. The space station makes 16 orbits around Earth daily, meaning the astronauts travel through 16 sunrises and sunsets per day.

Putting this journey into words will not be easy, but I will try. I am finally where I was born to be. pic.twitter.com/RZniLxIBfB

— Anne McClain (@AstroAnnimal) December 7, 2018

“I am finally where I was born to be,” McClain said in a Dec. 7 tweet, her first since departing Earth.

Lamp insists McClain isn’t more special than anyone else, even though the 39-year-old astronaut has two master’s degrees — one in aerospace engineering as a Marshall Scholar and another in international relations — and a lengthy list of awards, including for her service in Iraq. She also happens to have been a member of the U.S. women’s rugby team.

On her first day of preschool, 3-year-old McClain looked up to her mother and said she was going to learn how to be an astronaut.


A childhood photo of 3-year-old Anne McClain on her first day of pre-school in 1982 McClain knew she wanted to be an astronaut from the age of 3, her mother said. (Courtesy of Charlotte Lamp)

When McClain was 9, she watched the movie “Top Gun” two or three times a day and dreamed of flying, until her brother took the tape and broke it over his knee, Lamp said.

Shari Manikowski, McClain’s high-school math teacher and softball coach, said she stood out as a student for her tenacity. When she got cut from the volleyball team in high school, she went out for soccer.

“What made her really stand out is she had an incredible amount of perseverance and grit,” Manikowski said.

When McClain was a senior, she tore ligaments in her ankle during a softball game, Lamp recalled. She wasn’t supposed to walk on that leg, and her doctor said it would take until her first day at West Point to heal. The doctor told her to use crutches at graduation, but in a “typical Anne” fashion, she walked across the stage of the Spokane Opera House with crutches nowhere to be seen, Lamp said.

McClain’s success has prompted celebration among Spokane residents, especially girls. There’s even been global response on social media to her accomplishment, Lamp said.

Students at Gonzaga Prep watched the launch and landing in class.

“It was interesting to have so many people in one room, but for it to be completely quiet,” said senior Ned McEwen, who wants to pursue military aviation.

Seattle-area students have also been inspired by McClain, including the second-grade class taught by Manikowski’s daughter at Bertschi School in Capitol Hill. Bekah Manikowski showed her students a video in which McClain talked about how her physical safety depends on her ability to do complicated math. She also showed a video of the Soyuz rocket failure from last month, so they could better grasp the risk McClain took.

“I heard audible gasps when we showed the Soyuz failure, as they recognized the magnitude of her success in the face of failure,” Manikowski said in an email. “Sure, they can’t yet describe that in their own words, but based on the dozens of hands with questions afterward, you can tell that the wonder and excitement of space exploration is not lost on them. ”

Residents of Seattle, Spokane or anywhere can catch a glimpse of the International Space Station on most days when the sky is clear. The best viewing times can be found on NASA’s website.


U.S. astronaut Anne McClain, left, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, center and CSA astronaut David Saint-Jacques, members of the main crew of the expedition to the International Space Station, report to members of the State Committee before the launch of Soyuz MS-11 space ship at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 3. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, Pool

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/spokane-astronaut-anne-mcclain-in-space-i-am-finally-where-i-was-born-to-be/

[Orionid]

Anne Charlotte McClain została wyselekcjonowana w ramach NASA grupa 21 (2013).

Jest 558 człowiekiem w kosmosie.

(stan na 01.05.2025) Jest w trakcie odbywania drugiego lotu kosmicznego:

Odbyła 2 loty kosmiczne, które trwały łącznie 351d 07h 45m 46s:

03.12.2018-25.06.2019 Sojuz MS-11 ISS-57S/Perspective Antares 203:15:15:50
14.03.2025-09.08.2025 Crew Dragon SpaceX Crew-10 Endurance C210 F4 147:16:29:56

Odbyła 3 spacery kosmiczne, które trwały w sumie 18h 52m.
https://www.nasa.gov/people/anne-c-mcclain/

http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/mcclain_anne.htm
http://www.astronautix.com/m/mcclain.html
https://www.worldspaceflight.com/bios/m/mcclain-a.php

https://mek.kosmo.cz/bio/usa/00557.htm
https://www.kozmo-data.sk/kozmonauti/mcclain-anne-charlotte.html
https://www.astronaut.ru/index/in_pers2/13_20arf01.htm
https://www.april12.eu/usaastron/mcclain556ru.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_McClain
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_McClain
https://twitter.com/spacemen1969/status/1666325364090519555
---

Anne McClain @AstroAnnimal 6:17 AM · 10 maj 2021
Happy Mother’s Day mom  Sorry for all the stress I’ve caused you by leaving the planet. Can’t promise it won’t happen again...but thank you for giving me my wings and teaching me to fly.

Kod: [Zaznacz]

https://twitter.com/AstroAnnimal/status/1391608325595357186

[Orionid]

Pani pułkownik przejęła dowództwo nad USASMDC (U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command hosted a Change of Command) od Drew Morgana.

SMDC Astronaut Detachment changes command
04.07.2023 Story by Jason Cutshaw  U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command


Photo By Carrie Campbell | Army astronaut Col. Anne C. McClain receives the Army NASA Detachment guidon from Lt. Gen. Daniel L. Karbler, commanding general, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, as she assumes command of the detachment, April 4, during a ceremony at the USASMDC's Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, headquarters. Army astronaut Col. Andrew R. Morgan, who relinquished command of the detachment, will become the commander for U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll this summer. (U.S. Army photo by Carrie David Campbell)
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/442260/smdc-astronaut-detachment-changes-command
http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum38/HTML/002523.html

2)

7 juin
Joyeux anniversaire (45) à @AstroAnnimal 🎂🎂🎂
(1 mission, pour le moment : Expedition 57-58-59 soit 203 jours 15 heures 16 minutes dans l'espace dont 13h08 dans le vide spatial en 2 EVA - Annoncée sur Artemis)

https://x.com/spacemen1969/status/1798838023662055540

[Orionid]

Eksperyment eksploracyjny przed lotem w kosmos.
Ciąg dalszy po locie.
Mowa o Marsie, ale przecież te techniki na Księżycu również mogą być użyteczne.

COL Anne McClain @AstroAnnimal 3:19 AM · Feb 9, 2025
Work smarter not harder? That was my strategy on the 5min sandbag carry. Clear the rocks for later … jury is out on whether the energy was worth the clear path (spacesuits only want to bend in one direction, and sideways isn’t it!). How would you do this?

How will astronauts perform on the martian surface after a long trip through microgravity? We @NASA_Johnson are finding out. I ran suited tests for baseline data before flight, then will redo tests within a few days of landing from
@Space_Station later this year.

https://twitter.com/AstroAnnimal/status/1888412470441881949

The treadmill was particularly challenging, taking about 25min to cover half a mile (800m) at various inclines. Looking forward to seeing how @Space_Station’s T2 treadmill keeps me in shape for this test after flight.

https://x.com/AstroAnnimal/status/1888413273055543669

[Orionid]

Wczoraj astronautka obchodziła na orbicie 46. urodziny

COL Anne McClain @AstroAnnimal 4:29 PM · Jun 6, 2025
Did you know that inside some of the racks on @space_station, we light things on fire? Fire is a catastrophic hazard to spacecraft, but its behavior is difficult to fully characterize in microgravity. In 2009, NASA selected five investigations to help figure this out. SoFIE-MIST is one of them.
 
SoFIE-MIST stands for Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction–Material Ignition and Suppression Test. MIST consists of a small-scale combustion wind tunnel, cylindrical fuel sample, an igniter, radiant heaters, and instrumentation. By varying parameters like air flow speed, oxygen concentration, pressure, and level of external radiation, then viewing the resultant flame produced on the sample, we can better characterize early behavior of fire. This helps us choose better materials for use in space, and it helps determine the best methods of extinguishing fires in space. This week, I changed out the fuel samples and igniter for the next science run.
 
This, like most experiments on Space Station, also helps us on Earth. This data helps refine our terrestrial combustion models as well, which also informs material selection and fire fighting techniques for a variety of applications.

https://twitter.com/AstroAnnimal/status/1930995561911488819

2)

COL Anne McClain 8:31 PM · Mar 5, 2025
@AstroAnnimal
Quarantine BTS!

https://twitter.com/AstroAnnimal/status/1897369425155907686

[mss]

Stephane SEBILE @spacemen1969
7 juin

Joyeux anniversaire (46) à @AstroAnnimal
 🎂🎂🎂
(2ème mission actuellement cours depuis mars dernier : Expedition 57-58-59-72-73 soit, à ce moment, 287 jours dans l'espace dont 18h52 dans le vide spatial en 3 EVA - Annoncée sur Artemis)

https://x.com/spacemen1969/status/1931109595725943099

https://twitter.com/spacemen1969/status/1931109595725943099

[Orionid]

19.06.2025 o 09 47 CEST astronautka została 88. człowiekiem, który osiągnął co najmniej 300 dni (8. kobieta) nalotu oraz trzecim w 2025.
Obecnie w przedziale nalotu 300-399 znajduje się 49 kosmonautów...

[Orionid]

Astronautka przez okno samolotu widziała dzisiejszy start z Vandenberg AFB.

COL Anne McClain @AstroAnnimal 6:09 AM · Sep 29, 2025
What’re the chances?! I looked out my airplane window and saw a very familiar sight. Turns out, my departure from LAX was perfectly timed to see a @SpaceX Falcon 9 @Starlink launch from California. Hard to believe it’s only been 6 months since I took that same ride!

https://twitter.com/AstroAnnimal/status/1972513975893213268

[Orionid]

Summer Heather Worden została oskarżona w 02.2020 o składanie fałszywych oświadczeń Federalnej Komisji Handlu (Federal Trade Commission) i Biuru Inspektora Generalnego NASA (NASA Office of Inspector General).

Zgodnie z ugodą o przyznanie się do winy, Worden zgodziła się przyznać do jednego zarzutu złożenia fałszywych oświadczeń.
Zgodziła się również wypłacić odszkodowanie ofiarom oszustwa.
W zamian prokuratorzy federalni zgodzili się wycofać pozostałe zarzuty.

Wyrok w sprawie Worden zostanie ogłoszony w 02.2026.
Grozi jej do pięciu lat więzienia i grzywna do 250 000 dolarów.

Worden została oskarżona o wyłudzenie od ośmiu osób, w tym McClain, ponad 200 000 dolarów z zakupu ziemi w 2017.

Kansas woman pleads guilty to falsely accusing NASA astronaut of hacking bank account from space
By John Wayne Ferguson, Staff Writer Nov 14, 2025 

The ex-wife of a NASA astronaut pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge that she lied to federal investigators when she claimed her spouse hacked into her bank account while she was floating 254 miles above the Earth’s surface.

Summer Heather Worden, 50, of Kansas, was charged in February 2020 with making materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements to the Federal Trade Commission and the NASA Office of Inspector General.

Prosecutors agreed to drop other charges in exchange for the guilty plea. Worden could still be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

In 2019, Worden contacted the FTC and accused her wife, astronaut Anne McClain, of changing passwords on Worden’s bank account to deny her access to financial information. Worden made a similar complaint to NASA investigators and accused McClain of improperly accessing the bank account from aboard the International Space Station.

The accusations were promoted by Houston media consultant and former TV reporter Wayne Dolcefino and made national headlines. McClain is a West Point graduate and decorated combat pilot who was chosen to be an astronaut in 2013.

The accusations raised questions about how crimes committed in outer space would be investigated. McClain maintained her innocence and said she had simply accessed a shared bank account, albeit one shared with an estranged ex.

The investigation soon turned on Worden.

In the indictment, federal prosecutors said that the timelines in Worden’s complaints didn’t match the dates when the bank account was created and accessed. They also said that Worden had previously given McClain permission to access bank records.

A superseding indictment handed up in 2022 also charged Worden with five counts of wire fraud and three counts of unlawful financial transactions. Worden was accused of bilking eight people, including McClain, out of more than $200,000 in a land purchase in 2017. Worden allegedly solicited funds to buy investment property in Spicewood, Texas, then purchased the land in her own name and sold it again in 2021, keeping the proceeds for herself, according to the indictment.

She also allegedly used the money from the property sale to hire attorneys to represent her after her original indictment, according to court records.

Worden agreed to plead guilty to one count of making a false statement, according to a plea agreement unsealed on Thursday. She also agreed to pay restitution to the fraud victims. In exchange, federal prosecutors agreed to drop the other charges.

Worden will be sentenced in February. She could face up to five years in prison and be fined up to $250,000.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/nasa-astronaut-s-ex-wife-admits-lied-space-21182486.php

[Orionid]

Summer Heather Worden została skazana na trzy miesiące więzienia federalnego i ma zapłacić 210 000 dolarów odszkodowania.

Astronaut’s Ex-Wife Sentenced for Lying That Former Spouse Committed First Ever Crime in Space
By Gabrielle Rockson  Updated on February 13, 2026
https://people.com/astronaut-ex-wife-sentenced-for-lying-that-former-spouse-committed-first-ever-crime-space-11906137
https://www.eonline.com/news/1428568/astronaut-anne-mcclains-ex-wife-prison-sentence-for-false-space-crime

Far Out: woman sentenced for making false reports of illegal bank account access from International Space Station
Thursday, February 12, 2026 For Immediate Release, U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas

HOUSTON – A 51-year-old resident of Sedgwick County, Kansas, has been ordered to federal prison for making false, fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations to law enforcement, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Summer Heather Worden pleaded guilty Nov. 14, 2025.

U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett has now sentenced Worden to three months in federal prison to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release. The court also ordered Worden to pay $210,000 in restitution.

At the hearing, the court heard evidence that Worden falsely accused her former spouse of illegally accessing her bank account from the International Space Station while the couple was going through a divorce. Even after an internal investigation exonerated the former spouse, Worden continued promoting the false claim to news outlets and hired a media consultant to amplify the claim. The evidence further showed Worden publicly released her former spouse’s personal information.

In July 2019, Worden alleged her estranged spouse had guessed her password and illegally accessed her bank account while deployed to the International Space Station. 

However, the investigation revealed Worden opened her bank account in April 2018, and both parties accessed it until January 2019, when Worden changed the account credentials. Investigators also determined Worden had granted her spouse access to her bank records, including login credentials, as early as 2015.

Worden was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard D. Hanes and Brandon Fyffe prosecuted the case.

Updated February 12, 2026

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/far-out-woman-sentenced-making-false-reports-illegal-bank-account-access-international