Astronaut Accused of Hacking Ex-Wife's Bank Account From Space

An astronaut in the midst of a messy divorce is accused of hacking her estranged wife's bank account from space.

Astronaut Anne McClain has been involved in divorce proceedings from former partner Summer Worden for the past year, along the way accusing Worden of physical abuse in court documents. Now Worden has told Houston TV station KPRC that McClain accessed her personal banking activity without permission while she was on the International Space Station.

"USAA Bank did give evidence to my attorneys that she did access my bank accounts," Worden said.

Worden has sent a letter to NASA detailing the allegations.

"I was shocked and appalled at the audacity by her to think that she could get away with that, and I was very disheartened that I couldn't keep anything private," Worden said.

Rusty Hardin, an attorney for McClain, gave a statement to the station that did not materially address any accusation.

"Family cases are extremely difficult and private matters for all parties involved. Neither Anne nor we will be commenting on this personal matter," Hardin said. "We appreciate the medias understanding and respect, as maintaining privacy, is in the best interest of the child and family members involved." The two women have a 6-year-old son.

But then McClain issued a denial of the accusations on Twitter and predicted an inspector general would clear her name.

"There's unequivocally no truth to these claims. We've been going through a painful, personal separation that's now unfortunately in the media," she wrote. "I appreciate the outpouring of support and will reserve comment until after the investigation. I have total confidence in the IG process."

NASA won't comment on the personal dispute and only confirmed McClain remains an active astronaut.

NASA has a long history of welcoming lesbian astronauts into its ranks. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, was in a relationship with another woman, Tam O'Shaughnessy, for 27 years, but that was revealed publicly only after Ride's death.

Unfortunately, NASA also has a history of astronauts who don't handle breakups that well. Lisa Marie Nowak, who previously captained a shuttle mission, in 2007 faced attempted murder charges after driving 900 miles in diapers in a plot to attack a romantic rival, as reported by The New York Times.