How a salacious affair between two NASA astronauts ended in a murder trial

In 2007, a NASA astronaut was arrested for attempted murder and the story behind the crime is pretty mind-blowing.

Lisa Marie Nowak is an American aeronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut.

She was selected to fly aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during July 2006's 13-day STS-121 mission, during which she acted as a mission flight engineer, operating the robotic arm for several spacewalks.

At the time, she was also a flight officer in the United States Navy and a married mom of three young children.

Less than a year after Nowak's space mission, everything came crumbling down.

Lisa Nowak is a former NASA astronaut and US Navy flight officer (NASA Handout)

In February 2007, Lisa Nowak drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando. In her car, she had a trench coat, wig, pepper spray, a BB gun, rope, trash bags and an 8-inch knife.

Upon arriving at Orlando International Airport, decked out in the trench coat and wig, she approached Colleen Shipman's car in the parking lot and banged on the window claiming she needed a ride because her boyfriend hadn't shown up.

Shipman was initially suspicious of the encounter but when Nowak burst into tears she wanted to help.

However, when she rolled down the car window, Nowak sprayed her with pepper spray, yelling "You b****," before running away.

Police later arrested Nowak after they caught her trying to throw away evidence and she was charged with attempted murder and kidnapping.

The story garnered international attention when details about the reason behind the attack were revealed.

In 2007, NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak was charged with attempted murder and kidnapping after she attacked Colleen Shipman in an airport parking lot (Getty Images)

It turns out Colleen Shipman had recently started dating Bill Oefelein, an astronaut that Nowak had previously had an affair with.

Prior to the attack, a jealous Nowak had snuck into Oefelein's apartment and read emails between the couple. She also called him multiple times a day.

The case was later dubbed the 'Astronaut Love Triangle.'

At a pre-trail arraignment, prosecutors argued that Nowak had a well thought out plan to kidnap and possibly harm Colleen.

Nowak was released on bail and pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, burglary with assault and battery.

Two years later, she agreed to a plea deal and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of burglary and misdemeanor battery. She was sentenced to a year's probation.

During the court hearing, she said she was 'sincerely sorry' for her actions.

It turns out Shipman had been dating Nowak's fellow astronaut Bill Oefelein, who she'd previously had an affair with (NASA)

As a result of her crimes, Nowak's assignment as an astronaut was terminated by NASA and she was discharged from the US Navy under 'other than honorable' conditions.

Oefelein and Shipman later got married and in a 2016 interview with PEOPLE, Colleen said: "[After the attack] I thought, 'I'm going to be okay.' But it never was okay after that."

But, the outcome of the incident isn't entirely negative. As a result of extensive news coverage, Congress held hearings and a committee recommended that NASA pay more attention to astronauts' wellbeing and state of mind.

This led to the formation of the BHP (the Behavioural and Health Performance programme) in 2008, and required psyche screenings for all astronauts.

"Before 2008, psychiatric screening was only done for astronaut candidates," said Nick Kanas, a psychiatrist who used to screen NASA astronauts.

"Now all astronauts are screened by a psychiatrist every year regardless if they are flying or not."