Alaska, Nov 14 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak has been charged with attacking a romantic rival Colleen Shipman. She pleaded guilty on Tuesday to burglary and battery charges, but was sentenced very lightly, only to year probation and no additional jail time.

Lisa Nowak was arrested on February 5, 2007, after police revealed that she drove more than 1,000 miles from Houston to Orlando International Airport, disguised herself, so that no one would recognize her and assaulted Colleen Shipman, who was then an Air Force captain.

Colleen Shipman was assaulted by Lisa, as Shipman had begun dating Lisa Nowak’s love interest, former space shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein. Lisa Nowak didn’t like this intrusion and hence assaulted Colleen. Finally Bill Oefelein was forced out of NASA and now lives in Alaska with Shipman.

Police also said that Lisa Nowak told them she wore diapers in her car so she would not have to make as many stops along the way. Before the sentencing, Shipman tearfully told the court she believed she had narrowly escaped being killed in what she called the vicious attack in a dark parking lot.

“I believe I escaped a horrible death that night,” Shipman said, adding that Nowak had even researched “corpse dismemberment” before the brutal attack.