Lisa Marie Nowak (née Caputo; born May 10, 1963) is an American aeronautical engineer, former NASA astronaut, and retired United States Navy officer.

In 2007, Nowak was involved in a highly publicized incident of criminal misconduct for which she eventually pleaded guilty to felony burglary and misdemeanor battery charges, resulting in her demotion from captain to commander, and termination by NASA and the Navy.

In 2009, Nowak agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to charges of felony burglary of a car and misdemeanor battery.

Her parents thought Brown was the best choice, but Caputo felt that she had more chance of achieving her goal of becoming an astronaut by going to the Naval Academy.

[12] For her first assignment, Caputo chose a six-month secondment to the Johnson Space Center, where she worked as an aerospace engineer at its branch at Ellington Air Force Base near Houston, Texas.

[17][18] Her next assignment was to Electronic Warfare Aggressor Squadron 34 (VAQ-34) at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, where she flew on both the Corsair II and the Douglas ERA-3B Skywarrior, supporting the U.S. Pacific Fleet on reconnaissance mission exercises.

[25] As a naval officer, Nowak could not apply directly, like a civilian could, but had to submit her application to a review board that would then approve it and forward it on to NASA, which it did.

[26] NASA received over 2,400 applications,[2] and in early 1996, Nowak was informed that she was one of 150 finalists deemed highly qualified, and she was asked to report to Johnson Space Center for a week of orientation, interviews and medical evaluations.

This arrangement lasted until Richard was recalled to active duty in 2002 to participate in Operation Enduring Freedom, which effectively left Nowak a single mother with three young children.

[44] NASA announced in December 2003 that STS-121 would be commanded by Steven Lindsey, with Mark Kelly as pilot and Michael Fossum and Carlos Noriega as mission specialists.

[49] A prelaunch reception was held for Nowak at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, and she was joined by her parents, her husband Richard and three children, family members, and friends from school, Annapolis and the Navy.

[51] On July 1, 2006, the STS-121 crew ate the traditional prelaunch cake decorated with the mission's insignia and boarded Discovery at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B.

The first day in space was devoted to inspecting the orbiter for possible damage, as the crew had noticed debris falling off the external tank during liftoff.

Nowak deployed the robotic arm to inspect the wing tips, nose and underside of the spacecraft using digital and video cameras and laser scanning.

[58] After Discovery docked with the ISS, Wilson and Nowak used the Canadarm to unload the Italian-built Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM).

[62][63] Some 2,000 kilograms (4,300 lb) of trash, experiment results and broken equipment were packed into Leonardo, and Nowak and Wilson used the robotic arm to re-stow the module in Discovery's cargo bay.

[65] On September 9, Nowak attended a tailgate party at the Naval Academy versus University of Massachusetts football game, where she gave her classmates the Class of 1985 flag she had carried on the Space Shuttle and signed photographs of herself.

She gave a long interview with the Ladies' Home Journal for its Mother's Day issue and presented awards at NASA's Stennis Space Center.

The state's assistant attorney, Amanda Cowan, argued that the facts indicated a well-thought-out plan to kidnap and perhaps to injure Shipman.

[93] She returned to Houston on a commercial airline flight on February 8,[94] and upon arrival was reportedly taken immediately under police escort to the Johnson Space Center for medical and psychiatric evaluation.

[102] Patricia Santy, a former NASA flight surgeon and the author of the book Choosing the Right Stuff: Psychological Selection of Astronauts and Cosmonauts, described a culture among the Astronaut Corps to avoid discussing physical and psychological issues with medical personnel, due to the perception that any issues could jeopardize one's career and flight status.

[103] Policies at NASA were changed in a variety of ways: flight surgeons would receive further training in psychiatric evaluation,[104] and a new "Astronaut Code of Professional Responsibility" was issued.

[107] A floppy disk contained two photographs of Nowak riding in a bicycle race, and 15 images depicting an unidentified woman in different stages of undress.

[109][110] On May 11, 2007, authorities released a surveillance video from the Orlando International Airport terminal showing Nowak waiting for nearly an hour, standing near the baggage claim, then donning a trench coat and following Shipman after she retrieved her bags.

On March 2, Florida prosecutors filed three formal charges against Nowak: (1) attempted kidnapping with intent to inflict bodily harm or terrorize, (2) burglary of a conveyance with a weapon, and (3) battery.

If it was found not to have occurred, Nowak's attorneys wanted the criminal charges related to the assault and battery to be dropped before trial began.

[127][139] A Naval Board of Inquiry consisting of Rear Admirals Mark S. Boensel, Eleanor V. Valentin and Timothy S. Matthews voted on August 19, 2010, to recommend Nowak be separated from the Navy under other than honorable conditions and reduced in rank from captain to commander.

[144] Nowak's conduct, Garcia said in a statement, "fell well short" of what is expected of Navy officers and "demonstrated a complete disregard for the well-being of a fellow service member".

[139][145] Astronaut Michael Coats, the director of the Johnson Space Center from 2005 to 2012,[146] recalled that Nowak struggled after leaving the Navy, as the notoriety of her case kept potential employers from hiring her.

"Rocket Man", a 2007 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, was inspired by Nowak's story and featured a love triangle among astronauts.