Summer Heather Worden, the woman whose accusations once sparked headlines about a so-called “first crime in outer space,” has now admitted in federal court that she made the whole thing up. In November 2025, she pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to federal investigators.

Worden, a former Air Force intelligence officer from Kansas, became the center of attention back in 2019 when she claimed her estranged spouse, NASA astronaut Anne McClain, had accessed her bank account from the International Space Station during a six-month mission. Worden said she noticed suspicious activity and believed McClain had used NASA systems in space to spy on her finances. She went to the Federal Trade Commission and NASA’s Office of Inspector General, which led to worldwide speculation about whether an astronaut had committed a crime in orbit.

McClain always rejected the accusation. She said she checked the account only to manage family expenses and had used the same login information she had always used during their marriage. After a months-long investigation, NASA’s inspector general and federal agents found no wrongdoing by McClain. Instead, they found that Worden had provided false information, including misleading screenshots suggesting unauthorized access.

A federal grand jury indicted Worden in 2020 on two counts of making false statements. She later faced separate fraud charges involving a Texas land deal, but those were dropped as part of her plea agreement. In her recent guilty plea, Worden admitted she lied about McClain’s access and misled investigators about changing her password and trying to secure her account.

Anne McClain, a decorated Army helicopter pilot and one of NASA’s top astronauts, was fully cleared in 2020. She went on to command NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the ISS in 2025. NASA publicly backed her throughout the investigation.

The case drew global interest not only because it involved an astronaut, but because it raised unusual questions about how laws apply in space. Under existing agreements, astronauts follow the laws of their home countries even while on the ISS.

Worden is scheduled to be sentenced in February 2026. Making false statements to federal authorities carries a possible penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.