In what NASA is calling a bizarre and sad story, an astronaut is being accused of attempted kidnapping and murder.

Police say that Lisa Nowak planned to kidnap and kill someone she considered a romantic rival for the affection of another astronaut.

Nowak, 43, is a married mother of three. She has been an astronaut for more than a decade. Her first space flight took place last summer, when she blasted off into space on the Fourth of July.

After the charge of attempted murder was added to the accusations against Nowak, the judge in the case raised her bail to $25,000.

The case is unprecedented in the history of the space agency's elite astronaut corps.

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