Photo: military.com
Just because it happens in space doesn’t mean it’s not meant to obey laws on Earth. That’s what former Air Force intelligence officer Summer Worden is saying of her claims against former spouse, NASA astronaut Anne McClain.
Worden is accusing McClain of identity theft, after McClain accessed Worden’s bank account from a computer on the International Space Station. No money was taken or moved, but Worden notes that she and McClain are in the middle of a bitter separation and custody dispute, and that McClain has no right to go rummaging through her finances, the New York Times reports.
Worden has already filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and NASA, in what is believed to be the first instance of crime in space. For her part, McClain admits she went through her ex’s bank account, but only to make sure she has enough money to pay the bills and look after her son, whom McClain helped raise while they were still a couple.
The son is Worden’s and he was born about one year before the two women even met. He is also the reason the two are still fighting in court after getting a divorce: throughout the relationship, Worden resisted the idea that McClain adopt the boy, and is now accusing her of trying to manipulate and vilify her so she can get full custody.
The two divorced after McClain accused Worden of assault in 2018 (the charge has been dropped since), and still are not on good terms. Apparently, during a recent 6-month mission on the International Space Station, McClain accessed Worden’s bank account from one of the NASA computers. Because of her experience as a security officer, Worden had no trouble tracking down the person who went rummaging through her finances, and she wants McClain to suffer the consequences.
“There’s unequivocally no truth to these claims. We’ve been going through a painful, personal separation that’s now unfortunately in the media,” McClain says in a statement on her official Twitter.
Mark Sundahl, director of the Global Space Law Center at Cleveland State University, tells the NY Times that, while this is the first case of an alleged crime committed in space, it will certainly not be the last. Not the way things are going, at least. “The more we go out there and spend time out there, all the things we do here are going to happen in space,” he explains.
Worden has already filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and NASA, in what is believed to be the first instance of crime in space. For her part, McClain admits she went through her ex’s bank account, but only to make sure she has enough money to pay the bills and look after her son, whom McClain helped raise while they were still a couple.
The son is Worden’s and he was born about one year before the two women even met. He is also the reason the two are still fighting in court after getting a divorce: throughout the relationship, Worden resisted the idea that McClain adopt the boy, and is now accusing her of trying to manipulate and vilify her so she can get full custody.
The two divorced after McClain accused Worden of assault in 2018 (the charge has been dropped since), and still are not on good terms. Apparently, during a recent 6-month mission on the International Space Station, McClain accessed Worden’s bank account from one of the NASA computers. Because of her experience as a security officer, Worden had no trouble tracking down the person who went rummaging through her finances, and she wants McClain to suffer the consequences.
“There’s unequivocally no truth to these claims. We’ve been going through a painful, personal separation that’s now unfortunately in the media,” McClain says in a statement on her official Twitter.
Mark Sundahl, director of the Global Space Law Center at Cleveland State University, tells the NY Times that, while this is the first case of an alleged crime committed in space, it will certainly not be the last. Not the way things are going, at least. “The more we go out there and spend time out there, all the things we do here are going to happen in space,” he explains.
There’s unequivocally no truth to these claims. We’ve been going through a painful, personal separation that’s now unfortunately in the media. I appreciate the outpouring of support and will reserve comment until after the investigation. I have total confidence in the IG process.
— Anne McClain (@AstroAnnimal) August 24, 2019
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