Former Air Force Intelligence Officer Pleads Guilty to Lying About Astronaut Wife’s Alleged Space Crime
A former Air Force Intelligence officer has pleaded guilty to lying to law enforcement about her astronaut wife’s alleged space crime, according to authorities.
Summer Worden, 50, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for falsely accusing NASA astronaut Anna McClain of accessing Worden’s bank account from the International Space Station, the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas said in a press release.
Worden’s guilty plea on Thursday marked the end of a legal dispute with McClain. Worden had alleged that McClain accessed her bank account from space in January 2019 while they were still married and McClain was on a mission to the International Space Station.
However, investigations revealed that both Worden and McClain had access to the bank account until January 2019 when Worden changed the credentials, authorities disclosed.
McClain has consistently maintained that she had legal access to Worden’s accounts to manage their finances with her full knowledge. The couple’s divorce was finalized in January 2020 amidst a bitter separation and parental dispute.
McClain, who returned to the International Space Station in March 2025 as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission, was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2013.
Worden is set to be sentenced on February 12 and has been allowed to remain on bond until the hearing.
