NASA astronaut accused of identity theft, accessing bank account from aboard ISS

NASA is investigating what could be the first crime committed from outer space after an astronaut was accused of accessing her estranged wife's bank account from aboard the International Space Station.

The New York Times reported that former Air Force Intelligence officer Summer Worden filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and her family lodged one with NASA's Office of the Inspector General accusing Anne McClain of identity theft and improper access to Worden's private financial records.

NASA astronaut Anne McClain stands inside the vestibule between the Harmony module and the Destiny laboratory module aboard the International Space Station January 30, 2019 in Earth Orbit. [File Photo: zuma/IC]

Worden discovered the security breach after finding out McClain was able to keep up with her spending records when the astronaut was on a 6-month mission on the ISS.

"I was pretty appalled that she would go that far. I knew it was not OK," Worden said.

McClain said she was taking care of the couple's finances with Worden's permission, like she "had always done."

Her lawyer, Rusty Hardin, added that McClain was never informed the bank account was off limits so she continued to use Worden's log-in to make sure there were sufficient funds to pay the bills and care for their child, according to the Times.

McClain and Worden married in 2014 and have been involved in a divorce since last year.

Worden has a son from before she met McClain, and the couple has been fighting over parenting rights.

McClain was part of NASA's first-ever all-female spacewalking crew but the mission had to be canceled in March because there wasn't going to be enough time to fit both astronauts with the suits.