Estranged Wife of NASA Astronaut Indicted in Houston

A federal grand jury indicted the estranged wife of a NASA astronaut after she was charged with lying to investigators in a case involving the International Space Station.

According to The Spokesman-Review, 44-year-old Summer Worden was indicted in Houston as part of a case that's being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas. Worden is charged with lying to the Federal Trade Commission and NASA's Office of Inspector General.

Worden accused her estranged wife, NASA astronaut Anne McClain, of accessing her bank account in January 2019 while McClain was on the Space Station. McClain admitted to doing so but Worden told investigators that no money was taken out of the account. She theorized that McClain, 40, might have been working to gain custody of the couple's son.

McClain and Worden filed for divorce in 2018.

According to The Spokesman-Review, the indictment claimed that Worden was untruthful about when the bank account in question was opened and when she changed the login credentials for it.

"There's unequivocally no truth to these claims," McClain said last summer after the allegations surfaced. "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."

The charges against Worden carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine that could total $250,000.

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