The estranged spouse of a NASA astronaut has admitted guilt in misleading law enforcement regarding what was initially thought to be the first crime committed outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

Summer Worden could face a federal prison sentence of up to five years and a fine reaching $250,000. This comes as a consequence of the false accusations she made against Anne McClain, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

According to the office, “In July 2019, Summer Heather Worden claimed her estranged spouse had guessed her password and unlawfully accessed her bank account while aboard the International Space Station.”

However, the investigation disclosed that Worden had established the account back in April 2018, and both she and her spouse had been accessing it until she changed the credentials in January 2019. The authorities found evidence that Worden had permitted her spouse to view her bank information since at least 2015, including sharing login details.

NASA astronaut Anne McClain was photographed being assisted out of the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft following a landing in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California, on August 9, 2025. (Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images)

The initial claim made by Worden – which was the first allegation of a crime in space – generated inquiries from the Federal Trade Commission and NASA’s Inspector General, the New York Times reported. 

Crew-10 mission commander Anne McClain smiles for a photo before heading to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2025. (Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images)

The newspaper described Worden as a decorated intelligence officer in the Air Force. It added that McClain, a West Point graduate and Iraq War veteran who joined NASA in 2013, returned to the International Space Station in March as commander of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission.

Worden and McClain divorced in January 2020, according to KSDK. 

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 14, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Prosecutors said a judge will sentence Worden on Feb. 12, 2026, and that she is allowed to remain on bond pending that hearing.