Astronaut's Ex-Wife Admits She Lied About Space Crime

In a case that drew headlines as the world's first alleged crime in space, the ex-wife of a NASA astronaut has pleaded guilty to faking the entire episode. Summer Heather Worden, a former Air Force intelligence officer, admitted last week that she lied to investigators when she claimed astronaut Anne McClain illegally accessed her bank account from orbit, reports the New York Times. Worden, 50, now faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for lying to federal investigators.

The saga began in 2019, when Worden accused McClain—then aboard the International Space Station—of using a guessed password to sneak into her bank account, sparking investigations by both the Federal Trade Commission and NASA's inspector general. However, federal investigators later determined that Worden had given McClain access to the accounts years earlier, starting in 2015, as part of their shared finances. Prosecutors said Worden misled authorities about when she created her personal account and changed her login information. McClain, a West Point graduate and Iraq veteran who joined NASA in 2013, has always maintained she was simply managing household finances with Worden's full knowledge. The indictment against Worden was unsealed in April 2020.

Worden made the allegations during a custody battle over their son, then six years old, KHOU reports. Worden and McClain were married in 2014. Their divorce was finalized in early 2020. McClain has continued her career, recently commanding NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the ISS. She returned to Earth in August after five months in space. Worden is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge in Houston on Feb. 12.