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Author
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Topic: Astronaut accused of crime on space station
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SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4490
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-23-2019 08:46 PM
   
NASA is examining a claim that astronaut Anne McClain improperly accessed the bank account of her estranged spouse, Summer Worden, while on the International Space Station, reports The New York Times. Ms. McClain acknowledged that she had accessed the bank account from space, insisting through a lawyer that she was merely shepherding the couple's still-intertwined finances. Ms. Worden felt differently. She filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and her family lodged one with NASA's Office of Inspector General, accusing Ms. McClain of identity theft and improper access to Ms. Worden's private financial records.Investigators from the inspector general's office have since contacted Ms. Worden and Ms. McClain, trying to get to the bottom of what may be the first allegation of criminal wrongdoing in space. |
issman1
Member Posts: 1045
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 08-24-2019 08:15 AM
Terrible allegation to face and worst of all her private life is public. |
cspg
Member Posts: 6222
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
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posted 08-24-2019 09:05 AM
Question: who cares? |
randy
Member Posts: 2229
From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 08-24-2019 09:35 AM
Answer: Not I. |
p51
Member Posts: 1658
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 08-24-2019 01:10 PM
Real answer: NASA does... |
Fra Mauro
Member Posts: 1622
From: Bethpage, N.Y.
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 08-24-2019 03:20 PM
It's not what was allegedly done but where it was done. |
Cozmosis22
Member Posts: 984
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 08-24-2019 03:39 PM
From the article: McClain remains a lieutenant colonel in the Army and "Stars and Stripes" reported this week that she is on a list of candidates NASA is considering to be the first woman on the moon. May not matter to some people but this alleged criminal activity will likely take her out of the running to be the first female on the moon. Too bad, expect her to retire quietly from NASA in the coming months. |
Fra Mauro
Member Posts: 1622
From: Bethpage, N.Y.
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 08-24-2019 05:01 PM
It is a sad situation. However, bad P.R. could affect Congressional support. NASA might overreact but look at other responses to Gemini 3 and Apollo 15. Just like having a "list" of who might be the first woman on the moon 5 years before the mission is P.R. |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3446
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 08-24-2019 05:49 PM
Two takeaways from this:No one's commented on McClain having a female spouse, such a change from when it was found out Ride had a female partner. In my opinion, it shows we've been more accepting of it. Just wish (wherever I read it before this, maybe her initial NASA bio?) that the word "spouse" had been used instead of "partner," because that's what Worden was. And think about how mundane space has become. Think about it: You're 250 miles above Earth, one of six or so people on the space station, very few people on Earth can name you, and you're working on how fire behaves in space or mixing materials that can't otherwise combine on Earth or some other activity. Day over, you have a few minutes to yourself... so you check a bank account. Which has no purpose in space because there are no stores up there. Nope, just continuing life in space as one does on Earth, except for the microgravity bit. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43541
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-24-2019 06:13 PM
Anne McClain has issued a statement (via Twitter): 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. |
Colokent
Member Posts: 11
From: Colorado Springs, CO USA
Registered: Jun 2013
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posted 08-24-2019 06:19 PM
I find the whole elevation of this into a major news story to be typical of the sensationalism that has rendered nearly all media in the US suspect (in my opinion). In my mind, it is nothing more than another married couple going through a breakup. Period. Emotions get high, people behave stupidly and/or irrationally. It is my hope that the two of them sort out their differences (amicably if possible, although that seems at risk) and go their respective ways. |
Jonnyed
Member Posts: 408
From: Dumfries, VA, USA
Registered: Aug 2014
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posted 08-24-2019 06:26 PM
Somebody asked, "Who cares?" The answer is: all of us should care.(Disclaimer: not specifically speaking to the evidence concerning the McClain case because we don't know yet one way or the other.) A NASA astronaut is a federal government public service employee paid by tax dollars and a representative of the entire nation while they do their job. Accusations of these sort may go to the question of trust. Is this person devious and malicious? Also, is this person a holder of a security clearance and doing classified research or have protected knowledge? If you can't trust government employees it might be because fewer and fewer people "care" about their trustworthiness. We should care. |
Colokent
Member Posts: 11
From: Colorado Springs, CO USA
Registered: Jun 2013
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posted 08-25-2019 08:17 AM
I'm somewhat surprised by some of the reactions on the board, since: - No one has yet determined that a crime was committed
- The incident is still under investigation
- Human beings are just that — not pieces of engineering hardware that if subjected to the correct type and frequency of testing will yield/reveal a desired result.
I don't deny that if it is found that McClain acted improperly and/or with knowing malice, then some consideration would be given to what could prevent such behavior in future members of the astronaut corps. I think it is important to remember that as the number of space travelers increases, the likelihood of their behavior and actions moving more toward being a reflection of society as a whole is inevitable. |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3446
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 08-25-2019 08:37 AM
It shouldn't be news. It should be handled privately by the two of them. But people love gossip and salacious news. |
astro-nut
Member Posts: 970
From: Washington, IL
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 08-25-2019 02:33 PM
Anne McClain is still a U.S. Army veteran and NASA Astronaut. Let's give her the privacy she needs and let her get beyond this personal matter.Hopefully this does not prevent her from making a second trip into space? Lt. Colonel McClain thank you for serving our country in the U.S. Army and NASA! |
chet
Member Posts: 1506
From: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 08-26-2019 12:58 AM
Alluded to here already but 8 words here worth "repeating": Due process and innocence presumed until proven guilty. |
SkyMan1958
Member Posts: 880
From: CA.
Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 08-26-2019 01:54 AM
With all due respect, we're dealing with NASA here, not the US criminal justice system. In my opinion, her NASA career is toast, at least as far as being in the public eye, e.g. flying a mission. NASA is probably the most sensitive US bureaucracy to public perception, and they do not want anything that will detract from their "white hat" routine. Even if she is 100% proven legally within her right, NASA doesn't want any mission where the media will report something along the lines of, "accused of financial misconduct," appearing in a statement by any media group. There are more than enough other astronauts out there for NASA to choose from. |
issman1
Member Posts: 1045
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 08-26-2019 09:15 AM
I'm glad it became public because if McClain was no longer on active status then it would be as mysterious as Jeanette Epps removal from ISS Expeditions 56/57. At least McClain got to fly a mission. |
chet
Member Posts: 1506
From: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 08-26-2019 12:04 PM
There would be something very wrong with NASA if just an accusation by a disgruntled individual, relative or associate were enough to scuttle someone's career, and would set an awful precedent. NASA would be wise to think twice before making that a standard policy, in my opinion. |
jimsz
Member Posts: 616
From:
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 08-26-2019 12:16 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Hart Sastrowardoyo:
Two takeaways from this...
First let me say I don't even know why this was "news" other that the salaciousness of cable TV news.Nobody has brought up the relationship between the women because if you do bring it up you are automatically branded with names and pelted with comments (not here but in general). All of this should be kept between the couple as it simply is not anyone else's business at this point. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43541
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-07-2020 10:26 PM
After a lengthy investigation, federal prosecutors said on Monday (April 6) that Anne McClain's former spouse, Summer Worden, had lied to investigators about some relevant details, and that a federal grand jury had indicted Ms. Worden on charges that could result in up to five years in prison, reports The New York Times. The indictment, returned in February but unsealed this week, alleges that Ms. Worden opened the bank account earlier than she had told investigators, and that she had not changed her login credentials until months later than she had claimed.The case represented an unprecedented allegation of a crime in space, which experts say could become less unusual as living and working in space becomes more routine. The current case raises questions, for example, about whether records of Ms. McClain's internet usage from space could be subpoenaed in court to help aid in Ms. Worden's defense. |
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