US EditionEx-Wife of NASA Astronaut Pleads Guilty to Lying in First Alleged 'Crime in Space' Case
Summer Heather Worden admitted fabricating claims that astronaut Anne McClain illegally accessed her shared bank account from the ISS amid a contentious divorce, facing up to five years in prison.
- On Nov. 13, Summer Heather Worden, 50, pleaded guilty to lying to law enforcement in federal court in Houston, ending the yearslong case tied to alleged International Space Station conduct.
- During a contentious divorce and custody fight, Summer Heather Worden accused Anne C. McClain in 2019 of illegally accessing her bank account from the ISS amid disputes over their son, then six years old, prompting complaints to the FTC and NASA OIG.
- The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas said investigators found Worden opened the account in April 2018, with both parties accessing it until January 2019 and shared access from at least 2015.
- As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to drop other charges, Worden faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 maximum fine, and she will remain free on bond until Feb. 12, 2026.
- McClain has since continued her NASA career, commanding the SpaceX Crew-10 mission this year amid the first alleged 'crime in space,' while NASA expressed confidence in the inspector general process.
81 Articles
81 Articles
What to know about astronaut Anne McClain, falsely accused of crime by her former wife
Col. Anne McClain, an astronaut most recently deployed as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 at the International Space Station, was accused by her estranged wife (now ex-wife), Summer Heather Worden, of illegally accessing Worden’s bank account from space during an earlier mission. Worden, a former Air Force intelligence officer and fellow astronaut, has admitted the accusation was unfounded. She pleaded guilty last week to lying to law enforce…
JUST IN: The Truth About The Infamous 'Space Hoax' Surfaces
The Texas woman who once claimed her astronaut spouse carried out the first criminal act in outer space has now admitted she fabricated the entire story. Summer Worden pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators after touching off a bizarre 2019 saga that had NASA scrambling and reporters buzzing about the possibility of an off-planet crime. Prosecutors say she now faces up to five years in federal prison and a potential $250,000 fine for t…
NASA astronaut Anne McClain was accused of having illegally accessed a bank account during a mission at the International Space Station.The case generated global attention, raising the possibility that it would be the first crime committed outside the planet.However, the judicial process revealed a very different outcome.The South Texas District Public Prosecutor reported that Summer Heather Worden, a former McClain partner, pleaded guilty to ha…
NASA astronaut's estranged wife pleads guilty to falsely alleging first crime committed in space
Summer Worden, the estranged wife of a NASA astronaut Anne McClain, has pleaded guilty to lying to law enforcement over what was alleged to be the first crime committed in space.
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