*U.S. astronaut charged with attempted kidnap-murder*

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A married U.S. astronaut was accused on
Tuesday of trying to kidnap and kill a rival for the affections of a
male astronaut after she drove 950 miles (1,530 km) wearing adult
diapers to confront the woman.

U.S. Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak, who has three children, was released from
jail in Florida after posting bail.

Nowak was initially arrested on attempted kidnapping charges on Monday
in Orlando after assaulting Colleen Shipman, a U.S. Air Force captain,
police said.

She was granted freedom on $15,500 bail on Tuesday morning on the
kidnapping charge but her release was delayed when police filed a new
charge of attempted first-degree murder -- rocking the elite world of
NASA astronauts.

The murder charge could mean a life sentence in prison if she were
convicted.

Police said Nowak, 43, a flight engineer who made her first trip into
space in July to the International Space Station aboard shuttle
Discovery, sped from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers so she would not
have to stop at a bathroom.

Astronauts wear diapers during launches and landings.

Nowak disguised herself in a dark wig, glasses and trench coat to
confront Shipman at Orlando International Airport but told police she
"only wanted to scare" the woman into talking to her.

In two separate appearances in court, wearing a jail uniform, shackled
at the waist and with her head bowed, Nowak said nothing about the
charges of attempted murder and kidnapping, attempted burglary of a
vehicle and battery.

"I would submit the police department is seeking a second bite of the
same apple today," said Nowak's attorney, Donald Lykkebak, complaining
to Orange County Circuit Judge Mike Murphy about the new charge.

After Nowak's second appearance in court, Murphy granted her release on
bail totalling $25,500.

NASA's astronaut corps, featured in Tom Wolfe's 1979 book "The Right
Stuff," is considered the elite of aerospace and science, populated by
top pilots and space researchers from the United States and other nations.

RESTRAINING ORDER

Lykkebak said his client's commitment to her career and her service to
the United States should be taken into account in determining bail.

"At times like this, judge, one's good works must count for something,"
he said.

But prosecutors said she was intent on murder.

Nowak drove to Orlando airport around midnight on Sunday, waited for
Shipman's flight from Houston to arrive and then followed her to the
parking garage armed with pepper spray, a steel mallet and a pellet gun,
police said.

She also carried black gloves, a folding knife with a 4-inch (10-cm)
blade, rubber tubing and trash bags, they said.

Nowak tried to get into Shipman's car and sprayed what may have been
pepper spray through the window when Shipman refused to open the door,
police said.

After the airport encounter, Shipman filed a petition for a restraining
order against Nowak, alleging the astronaut had been stalking her for
"approximately two months."

She called Nowak an acquaintance of her boyfriend and said Nowak had
researched Shipman's personal information using her government contacts
or computer.

Nowak told police she did not intend to harm Shipman.

In her statement, Nowak described her connection to male astronaut Bill
Oefelein as "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic
relationship."

Nowak, who grew up in Rockville, Maryland, and attended the U.S. Naval
Academy, became an astronaut in 1996 and waited 10 years for her first
space flight.

She was scheduled to be a lead commentator on the next shuttle flight, a
key role for an astronaut on the ground.