EDITORIAL: A Surprising Fall From Space — and Grace

The meltdown of astronaut Lisa Nowak is strange and sad. Even though we no longer throw ticker tape parades for NASA astronauts returning from outer space, they still hold a special place in our collective national image. Astronauts are our heroic pioneers. They are brave and disciplined, not to mention intellectually and physically at the top of their game. These are the attributes Ms. Nowak proudly showed during her first foray into space aboard the shuttle Discovery last July.

But the forlorn-looking woman wearing handcuffs and a prison uniform at a court appearance in Orlando Tuesday was a stark reminder that, here on Earth, astronauts are just as susceptible to human follies as the rest of us. As such follies go, Ms. Nowak’s is a doozy.

Romantic rival

She is charged with first-degree attempted murder, attempted kidnapping and battery for allegedly stalking and spraying pepper spray on a woman she considered to be her romantic rival. The incident took place at the Orlando airport where Ms. Nowak had culminated a 900-mile car journey from Texas. The purpose of the trip? To confront Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, who was returning to her Cape Canaveral home, according to police.

Ms. Nowak is married and the mother of three children. Orlando police describe her relationship with fellow astronaut William Oefelein as "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship." Mr. Oefelein is divorced.

All this has been breathtakingly and endlessly reported in the media, and especially so on cable-television news channels that seem to have an insatiable appetite for calamity, disaster and human misfortune. Indeed, the incident would be so much fodder for scandal-lovers if it weren’t for that pathetic photo of a once-admired — and admirable — individual in shackles and prison jumpsuit instead of a spacesuit.

There is genuine tragedy here. An innocent woman was victimized. Children have been hurt. A proud and accomplished woman has emotionally unraveled and inexplicably brought ruin upon herself and grief to her family. So strange, so sad, so tragic.