Astronaut Suffered 'Mental Anguish'

This photo provided by Andrea Rose, sister of astronaut Lisa Nowak, shows Nowak, right, with her two sisters, Andrea Rose on the left, and Marisa Terrenzi on the evening of Nowak's return from space in July of 2006 in Cocoa Beach, Fla. Nowak returned to Texas and headed to Johnson Space Center for a medical assessment Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007, a day after being charged in Florida with attempted murder, accused of hatching an extraordinary plot to kidnap Colleen Shipman, who she believed was romantically involved with William Oefelein, a space shuttle pilot. (AP Photo/Nowak Family) (AP)

HOUSTON -- Anyone who's read Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" or seen the movie based on it knows about the mental and emotional stresses astronauts face as they train for space travel. But those trying to explain the apparent breakdown of Lisa Nowak say the pressure can be even higher for female astronauts, who not only face the same work stresses as their male counterparts but often face high expectations at home.

"They made more sacrifices than the 'Right Stuff' guys," said Dr. Jon Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon who lost his wife, astronaut Laurel Clark, in the 2003 Columbia disaster. "They have to balance two careers _ to be a mom and wife and an astronaut. ... You don't come home at night, like most of the male astronauts, and have everything ready for you."

Clark said Nowak, charged with attempted murder and attempted kidnapping in what police depict as a love triangle involving a fellow astronaut, provided invaluable support to his family after his wife's death, even when it cost her time with her own husband and three children.

Nowak's background _ high school valedictorian, Naval Academy graduate, test pilot _ seemed to equip her for the challenge. Yet as she and some of her acquaintances acknowledged, the stresses on her and her family were extraordinarily intense.

On Wednesday, transformed from space hero to criminal suspect, Nowak returned to Houston for a medical assessment.

She was met on the tarmac by police and escorted into a waiting squad car after her release on bail. Her head was covered by a jacket. She faced a medical exam at Johnson Space Center.

NASA said it would revamp its psychological screening process in light of Nowak's arrest. The review will look at how astronauts are screened for psychological problems and whether Nowak's dealings with co-workers signaled complications.

Nowak has a teenage son and 5-year-old twin girls with her husband, Richard, who works for a NASA contractor. The couple separated a few weeks ago after 19 years of marriage.

"She was the epitome of managing a very hectic career, making sacrifices to accommodate her family," Clark said in a telephone interview. "All those stresses can conspire to be overwhelming. ... Clearly she suffered a lot of mental anguish.

"There is a lot of marital stress in the astronaut corps in general _ a huge amount," Clark said. "It's not unheard of for things to change into relationships that are beyond professional."

Clark expressed empathy with Richard Nowak.

"He was a real low-key, go-with-the-flow, unobtrusive person," Clark said. "You almost have to be to survive in the realm. ... It was hard on our marriage to have my wife gone all the time, and eventually have her career surpass mine."