Astronaut’s Ex-Wife Sentenced for Lying That Former Spouse Committed First Ever Crime in Space
Summer Heather Worden, the ex-wife of NASA astronaut Anne McClain, has been sentenced to three months in federal prison and ordered to pay $210,000 in restitution
Gabrielle Rockson
Fri, February 13, 2026 at 2:50 PM UTC
3 min read
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.
Aubrey Gemignani/NASA via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
The ex-wife of NASA astronaut Anne McClain has been sentenced after she previously alleged McClain had committed the first crime in outer space and illegally accessed her bank account
Summer Heather Worden claimed that McClain had illegally accessed her personal bank account from the International Space Station in July 2019
Worden, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer who finalized her divorce from McClain in 2020, pled guilty in November 2025 to lying to law enforcement
Summer Heather Worden, the ex-wife of NASA astronaut Anne McClain, has been sentenced to prison time for falsely accusing McClain of illegally accessing her bank account in space.
Worden, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, pleaded guilty in November to lying to authorities after she accused McClain of committing the first ever crime from the International Space Station, PEOPLE previously reported.
Advertisement
Advertisement
On Thursday, February 12, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced in a press release that Worden had been sentenced in court to three months in federal prison.
This will be followed by two years of supervised release. The 51-year-old was also ordered to pay $210,000 in restitution.
STR/AFP via Getty
According to the release, Worden accused McClain of illegally accessing her bank account while the former couple was going through a divorce.
"Even after an internal investigation exonerated the former spouse, Worden continued promoting the false claim to news outlets and hired a media consultant to amplify the claim. The evidence further showed Worden publicly released her former spouse’s personal information," per the release.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Worden claimed that McClain “illegally accessed" her bank account by guessing the password while deployed to the International Space Station in July 2019, PEOPLE previously reported.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Brandon Bell/Getty
"However, Worden had actually opened the account in April 2018. Both parties had accessed it until January 2019 when Worden changed the credentials. The investigation revealed Worden had granted her spouse access to her bank records from at least 2015, including her login credentials," a November 2025 release from the DA's office stated at the time.
McClain, 46, and Worden were married from 2014 to 2019, according to The New York Times.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Worden filed for divorce in 2018 after McClain accused her of assault. The assault case was later dismissed, per local Missouri NBC affiliate KSDK.
Worden’s accusations came during the couple’s divorce and custody battle over their son, per the outlet. Their divorce was finalized in 2020.
McClain most recently served as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission, which began in March 2025, with McClain returning to Earth that August, per The New York Times.
Read the original article on People