Astronaut’s ex pleads guilty to false space-crime claim
Summer Heather Worden pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to making false reports that her estranged spouse, NASA astronaut Anne McClain, illegally accessed her bank account from the International Space Station in 2019. Prosecutors say Worden had shared login credentials since at least 2015 and both accessed the account until January 2019; she faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, with sentencing set for Feb. 12, 2026, and remains on bond.
Courts/Legal
Space/NASA
📌 Key Facts
- Defendant: Summer Heather Worden; Venue: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas
- Allegation concerned supposed first crime in space involving NASA astronaut Anne McClain in July 2019
- DOJ: Worden opened the account in Apr. 2018, shared credentials since at least 2015, and changed them in Jan. 2019
- Maximum penalties: up to 5 years in prison and $250,000 fine; sentencing scheduled Feb. 12, 2026