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American astronaut Anne McClain is facing
investigation for what is said to be the first crime committed from
space after she allegedly accessed the bank accounts of her estranged
spouse while aboard the International Space Station, reported The New
York Times.
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McClain, through her lawyer Rusty Hardin, said she had accessed the
account from space but denied doing anything improper. Hardin said the
astronaut was merely going through the couple’s finances.
McClain had married Summer Worden, a former intelligence officer, in
2014. Worden already had a son who was about a year old, and she
resisted McClain’s attempts to share parenting rights. Worden filed for
divorce in 2018 after McClain accused her of assault. The assault case
was dismissed later.
Worden filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission after she
found out that her bank accounts were accessed from a computer network
registered to NASA. Her family filed another complaint with NASA’s
Office of Inspector General, accusing McClain of identity theft and
improper access to private financial records. The family claimed McClain
had indulged in a “highly calculated and manipulative campaign” to win
custody of Worden’s son.
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The space agency is investigating the allegations. McClain had an
interview with the inspector general last week and said she was merely
checking on the family’s finances as she had always done with Worden’s
permission, reported The New York Times. Hardin said McClain had been
ensuring Worden’s account had sufficient funds to pay bills and care for
the child.
McClain had accessed the account throughout the relationship with
Worden’s full knowledge, Hardin said. After their separation, she never
heard from Worden that she should no longer use the account, the lawyer
claimed.“I was pretty appalled that she would go that far,” Worden was
quoted as saying. “I knew it was not okay.”
McClain was to be part of the first all-female spacewalk on March 29,
but NASA scrapped the plan, citing lack of availability of spacesuits in
the right size. The spacewalk would also have involved astronaut
Christina Koch.
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A spokesperson for NASA told The New York Times that the
decision to scrap the spacewalk was not influenced by any
allegations against McClain.
McClain returned to Earth in June after a six-month stay at the
International Space Station.
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