NASA's Anne McClain denies space crime claim amid divorce battle

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Decorated NASA astronaut Anne McClain has denied she stole her estranged wife’s identity while on a mission as officials investigate her for what may be the first crime committed in space.

“There’s unequivocally no truth to these claims,” McClain said Saturday on Twitter. “We’ve been going through a painful, personal separation that’s now unfortunately in the media.”

McClain’s legal drama made headlines Friday after her wife, Summer Worden, filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, claiming the astronaut illegally accessed her bank account during a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station, the New York Times reported.

The pair has been locked in a bitter divorce since 2018 as they feud over custody of Worden’s 6-year-old son, whom the astronaut helped raise before they separated, according to the paper.

After their split, Worden claims McLain repeatedly attempted to probe into her financial situation — which led her to ask her bank to check whether her account had been improperly accessed. The bank then discovered there was a sign-in from the NASA computer network, the Times reported.

Through her lawyer, McClain insisted that she didn’t do “anything improper” and signed into the account to ensure the family’s finances were in order, the newspaper reported.

McClain confirmed on Twitter that the space drama is currently under investigation.

“I appreciate the outpouring of support and will reserve comment until after the investigation,” McClain wrote. “I have total confidence in the IG process.”

NASA declined to comment on the astronaut’s divorce saga in a statement to Space.com.

“Lt Col. Anne McClain has an accomplished military career, flew combat missions in Iraq and is one of NASA’s top astronauts,” the agency said on Saturday.

“She did a great job on her most recent NASA mission aboard the International Space Station. Like with all NASA employees, NASA does not comment on personal or personnel matters.”

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