Former intelligence officer pleads guilty to lying about astronaut wife committing the ‘first crime in space’

A woman from Kansas, who previously worked as an intelligence officer in the Air Force, has admitted to falsely claiming her soon-to-be ex-wife, an astronaut, illegally accessed her bank account while on the International Space Station. She originally claimed this was the ‘first crime committed in space.’

In Texas, Summer Worden, age 50, confessed in court on November 13th that she made up stories about Anne McClain, a NASA astronaut and U.S. Army colonel, during their difficult divorce and child custody battle in 2019. Worden was accused of lying over five years ago.

Worden reported to investigators that McClain improperly accessed her bank account while on a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. This claim received widespread media attention and led to a rare investigation by NASA’s Office of Inspector General.

Astronaut Anne McClain spent six months in space in 2019

First crime in space never actually happened

Federal prosecutors in Southern Texas stated that Worden originally opened the account in 2018 and had been sharing the username and password with McClain for several years. Court records show both women used the account until early 2019, when Worden changed the password after they split up.

According to prosecutors, Worden falsely accused McClain of identity theft, reporting it to NASA’s Office of Inspector General and the Federal Trade Commission. This started a federal investigation just as McClain was getting ready for what was expected to be NASA’s first-ever all-female spacewalk. McClain has always maintained her innocence, and her lawyer told The New York Times in 2019 that she was just reviewing their joint financial accounts.

After returning to Earth in June 2019, McClain continued working at NASA. She most recently led the SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station, serving as commander from March to August 2025.

The trial for Worden was supposed to start next week, but she pleaded guilty instead. She is currently out on bail and will be sentenced on February 12th, where she could face a maximum of five years in federal prison.

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2025-11-16 19:18