Couple in astronaut assault case plan to marry

By Associated Press

Summary

A Florida attorney says a couple who were rocketed into the public eye because of ex-astronaut Lisa Nowak are getting married.

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Story Published: Jul 10, 2009 at 4:56 PM PST

Story Updated: Jul 10, 2009 at 4:56 PM PST

Couple in astronaut assault case plan to marry

NASA astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak is shown at left in a 2005 photo provided by NASA, and at right in a Feb. 2007 photo provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida attorney says a couple who were rocketed into the public eye because of ex-astronaut Lisa Nowak are getting married.

Kepler Funk, a Melbourne attorney who represents Colleen Shipman, said Friday that she and former space shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein have gotten engaged. The couple, who now live in Alaska, have not set a date.

Authorities say Nowak, who worked with Oefelein in the space program, drove from Houston to the parking lot of Orlando International Airport in February 2007 to confront Shipman.

Nowak is set to go on trial Dec. 7 on charges of attempted kidnapping, burglary and battery with assault. She was dismissed from the astronaut corps after her arrest and has since been on active duty at a Navy base in Corpus Christi, Texas.