Colleagues call Nowak 'prickly,' 'selfish'

ORLANDO, Fla., May 1 (UPI) -- Other astronauts describe Lisa Nowak as "prickly," with one man saying he learned in space she was "selfish," documents released Tuesday in Florida said.

Her former colleagues did not know that Nowak and Bill Oefelein, who piloted the space shuttle, were having an affair. But some said they suspected the couple were in an intimate relationship, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The state's attorney office released 120 pages of documents describing the investigation after Nowak was charged with attempted kidnapping and burglary. She allegedly confronted Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, her romantic rival, in the parking lot of Orlando International Airport after driving non-stop from Houston.

Mark Kelly, another astronaut, told investigators that after knowing Nowak for years he got more insight into her character when they served together on the space shuttle.

"He learned in space that she exhibited bad expedition behavior because she was selfish," an investigator said, summarizing the interview.

NASA has dropped Nowak from the astronaut program, although she remains in the Navy. She is scheduled to go on trial in September.