Moldova.ORG -- Astronaut Lisa Nowak, a 43-year-old married mother of three, was charged Tuesday with attempted murder, accused of plotting to kidnap Colleen Shipman, the woman she believed was her rival for the affections of shuttle pilot William Oefelein.

According to police, Nowak's love for Oefelein led her to drive from Houston to Orlando, bringing with her a trench coat and wig, armed with a BB gun and pepper spray, and wearing a diaper to avoid bathroom breaks on the trip.Once in Florida, Nowak apparently confronted Shipman, who was in her car at the Orlando airport, and sprayed something at her, possibly pepper spray.

At first the astronaut was charged with attempted kidnapping and other counts, and a judge had permitted her release on bail. Then, in a surprise move, prosecutors upped the charge to attempted murder, basing it on the weapons and other items they said they had found with Nowak or in her car: a pepper spray package, an unused BB-gun cartridge, a new steel mallet, knife, rubber tubing and large garbage bags.

Nowak's lawyer, Donald Lykkebak, disputed that upgraded charge. ''In the imaginations of the police officers, they extend these facts out into areas where the facts can't be supported,'' he said. Nowak was later released on $25,000 bail.

Earlier, Nowak was quoted by police as saying she and Oefelein had something ''more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship.''

Nowak's extended family in Utah is "heartbroken" over the charges levied against the astronaut.

"We don't have all the facts, but if she's committed a mistake, we will stand behind her, because we love her so much," said her aunt Cathy Caputo Hoskins, who serves as director of the Salt Lake City Community Action Program.

In a NASA interview last year, before her mission aboard Discovery, Nowak spoke about the strain her career placed on her family.

''It's a sacrifice for our own personal time and our families and the people around us,'' she said in the NASA interview. ''But I do think it's worth it because if you don't explore and take risks and go do all these things, then everything will stay the same.''

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