Astronaut Love Triangle: Lisa Nowak 'Is Finally at Peace' 15 Years After Attacking Romantic Rival

Lisa Nowak lives in a modest four-bedroom home outside of Houston, living a quiet life and working in the private sector. Now 59, her children are fully grown. Her oldest son is 30; her twin daughters are now 21.

It's a quiet life more than 15 years after she became an infamous household name. She avoids the media, declining to give interviews — but a representative for her tells PEOPLE that Nowak "is finally at peace and living a quiet life."

As a NASA astronaut, Nowak went into space as a mission flight engineer on July 4, 2006. She was a crew member on a 13-day Shuttle mission, operating the robotic arm for several spacewalks. Then a married mom of three young kids, she was also a flight officer in the United States Navy.

But less than a year later, her life shattered.

In Feb. 2007, Nowak drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando. In her car, she had a trench coat, black wig, pepper spray, a BB gun, rope, trash bags, an 8-inch knife and other items.

In a detail that captured the public's attention, police reports claimed that she had space diapers with her, so she wouldn't have to stop for bathroom breaks.

Nowak was wearing a black wig and trench coat when she approached Colleen Shipman's car in the parking lot of Orlando International Airport. She banged on the Shipman's vehicle and begged for a ride. When Shipman rolled down her window, Nowak sprayed her with pepper spray and tried to get in the car.

Shipman fled the scene, shaken but unhurt. Police arrested Nowak on attempted murder and kidnapping charges.

The story soon became international news when details emerged about the altercation. Shipman had recently begun dating Bill Oefelein, an astronaut who had once dated Nowak. The resulting case was dubbed the "Astronaut Love Triangle."

The Aftermath

The bizarre attack plunged Oefelein and Shipman's new relationship into an unwelcome national spotlight. It caused consequences for their careers and turned them into a punchline on late night talk shows.

The couple eventually got married. Colleen Shipman Oefelein spoke out to PEOPLE in 2016 in the only interview she has ever given. "[After the attack] I thought, 'I'm going to be okay,'" she recalls. "But it never was okay after that."

Nowak also faced severe repercussions. In 2008, she and her husband, Richard, divorced. She pleaded guilty in 2009 to a reduced charge of burglary and misdemeanor battery. During the court hearing, she said she was "sincerely sorry" for her actions, and promised that she would never contact Oefelein again.

She was given a year of probation. In 2010, she received an "other than honorable discharge" from the Navy.

Fifteen years after the infamous attack, everyone has tried to move forward. The Oefeleins married in 2010 and settled in Alaska. They run the website Adventurewrite.com, which promotes writing for kids. Shipman also works as a writer. She published her first novel, Eerie, in Dec. 2015 under the pen name C.M. McCoy. They have a 10-year-old son, Junior.

And Nowak has moved on as well. Despite the tough times in her past, her attorney told PEOPLE in 2019 that she's finally in a better place, simply saying, "She's doing well."