William Anthony "Bill" Oefelein (/ˈoʊfɛlaɪn/; born March 29, 1965) is an American freelance adventure writer and photographer and former NASAastronaut who, on his only spaceflight, piloted the STS-116Space Shuttle mission.[2]
Oefelein gained media attention on February 5, 2007, when fellow astronaut Lisa Nowak was arrested in Florida and charged with attempting to kidnap his girlfriend, U.S. Air ForceCaptain Colleen Shipman. Nowak later pleaded guilty to felony burglary and misdemeanor battery. Oefelein admitted to a two-year affair with Nowak, and he and Nowak became the first astronauts ever dismissed from NASA. Following the dismissals, NASA created its first astronaut Code of Conduct.[3]
Five months after completing his only space mission, and three months after his married former girlfriend, fellow astronaut Lisa Nowak, attacked his current girlfriend Colleen Shipman,[9] NASA terminated Oefelein's service with the space agency on May 23, 2007, stating that NASA and the U.S. Navy had made "a mutual decision" that his service with the NASA Astronaut Corps was no longer required, and that he would be reassigned to the U.S. Navy.[10][11][12][13] Oefelein and Nowak were the first astronauts ever dismissed by NASA, which created a written Code of Conduct for the NASA Astronaut Corps following their termination.[14] Oefelein retired from the Navy in the fall of 2008, returning to Alaska to start a business called Adventure Write as a freelance writer and photographer with Shipman, then his fiancée and current wife.[2][15][16]
Spaceflight experience
Oefelein served as pilot for the STS-116 mission aboard Space Shuttle Discovery from December 9 to 22, 2006. The seven-member crew on this 12-day mission continued construction of the International Space Station by adding the P5 spacer truss segment during the first of four spacewalks. The next two spacewalks rewired the station's power system, preparing it to support the addition of European and Japanese science modules by future Shuttle crews. The fourth spacewalk was added to allow the crew to coax and retract a stubborn solar panel to fold up accordion-style into its box. Discovery also delivered a new crew member and more than two tons of equipment and supplies to the station. Almost two tons of items no longer needed on the station returned to Earth with STS-116.
Personal life
Oefelein was married to his first wife[17] and had not yet been accepted to the NASA Astronaut Corps when he met married and recently selected Astronaut CandidateLisa Nowak in 1996.[18] When Oefelein became an astronaut candidate in 1998, he and Nowak became romantically involved while training together at NASA.[19] Oefelein and his first wife, who had two children together,[7] divorced in 2005.[17] Oefelein continued his relationship with the still married Nowak, while also starting a relationship, in November 2006, with U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman.[17] Shipman and Oefelein exchanged racy e-mails throughout his December 2006 space mission, and he ended his relationship with Nowak in January 2007.[17] On February 5, 2007, Nowak was arrested at the Orlando International Airport following an alleged assault on Shipman. On November 10, 2009, Nowak pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to time served plus one year's probation.[20]
On July 10, 2009, Oefelein and Shipman were living together in Alaska when they announced their engagement.[21] The couple married in summer 2010, and live in Wasilla, Alaska, with their son, born in 2012.[22] Shipman is now an author under the pen name C.M. McCoy, and released her first novel in December 2015.[22]
In September 2011, Oefelein survived a small plane crash in rural Alaska.[23]
^ abcdOefelein, William A. (February 1, 2009). "Billy O's Bio". Adventure Write. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
^"Astronaut Oefelein, NASA Part Ways". WESH. May 25, 2007. Archived from the original on September 14, 2009. (note that WESH revised the article on August 14, 2009, changing July 12, 2007 archive wording:) NASA has fired the astronaut... (to August 14, 2009 wording:) NASA and the astronaut ... have parted ways
^Couwels, John (November 10, 2009). "Ex-astronaut in love triangle case avoids prison with plea deal". CNN. Retrieved November 10, 2009. Shipman has left the military and Oefelein has left the astronaut corps, and the two live in Anchorage, Alaska, where they run a company called Adventure Write as freelance writers and photographers. People.com reported in July the two were engaged.
