The Sentinel

Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: News

Media Credit: http://www.astronaut.ru/as_usa/foto/16/nowak.jpg

Lisa Nowak finally broke. The piano playing, Easter brunch-making wife and seemed to have it all: a happy marriage, three beautiful children, and a booming career as an astronaut for NASA. So what pushed this high school valedictorian to drive 900 miles in diapers? It turns out, this seemingly perfect-life wasn't so perfect after all.

Her marriage was in shambles, and before the diaper incident, she had recently separated from her husband of nineteen years. After the split, she turned to William Oefelein, a fellow astronaut. Nowak stated that they had more than a working relationship, but less than a romantic relationship. In laymen's terms it was a booty call without next morning breakfast.

Nowak's new love, Oefelien, was a recently divorced father of two and had a girlfriend, Air Force captain Colleen Shipman. Now I know this may sound like an episode of the Maury Povich show, but try and follow: NASA astronaut Oefelien was dating Shipman and banging Nowak on the side.

Now here is where the story gets even better than daytime television: Nowak had been stalking Shipman for two months and, in turn, Shipman filed for a restraining order. Before the order could even go into affect, Nowak went stalker-style into Oefelein's computer and found out Shipman's plans to travel to Orlando.

Upon discovery of this information Nowak equipped herself with an assortment of items: a BB gun, a knife, a steel mallet, pepper spray, rubber tubing, large plastic bags, and six latex gloves. Then she set out from Houston for the 900 mile drive to Orlando - in diapers.

Nowak explained the reason she had donned the diapers was to cut down her traveling time. Apparently this is no new innovation for the astronaut profession. In the past astronauts wore urine and fecal containment systems with spandex trunks in order to travel in space while also being able to take care of business.

With new technology NASA invented Disposable Absorption Containment Trunks (DACTs) allowing the astronauts to travel through space for up to ten hours without having to drop their trunks. They are similar to regular diapers, only they slide on like spandex and are able to absorb 1,000 times their weight in water. Essentially, when a little tinkle occurs, the sodium polyacrylate power that is woven into the fabric soaks up the fluid pulls the liquid away from the skin.

Continued...

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