HOUSTON, Feb 7: A US astronaut charged with attempting to murder an alleged romantic rival for a spacecraft pilot’s affection returned home on Wednesday, two days after her bizarre odyssey landed her in jail.

CNN television images showed Lisa Nowak, 43, covering her face with a jacket as she alighted from an airplane at an airport in Houston, Texas, returning from Florida after a court released her on $25,500 bail.

Nowak was arrested on Monday on attempted kidnapping and battery charges after police said she drove over 1,500 kilometres from Texas to Florida to attack her alleged love rival, Colleen Shipman.

Police added an attempted first degree murder charge against the married mother of three on Tuesday that could put her in jail for life.

A Florida judge released her on bail but ordered her to wear an electronic tracking device on her ankle and stay away from Shipman.

The US Navy captain was a mission specialist on a shuttle Discovery mission in July, operating a robotic arm with astronaut Stephanie Wilson in a job that earned them the nickname “Robo Chicks”.

But the image of heroic astronaut unravelled as details of the case emerged along with a police mugshot showing a distressed-looking woman with dishevelled hair.

The case has captivated the media in the United States, earning headlines such as

“Astronaughty,” “Space Oddity” “Lust in Space” and “Astronut”.

A police report said Nowak wore diapers to avoid making bathroom breaks while driving from Houston to Orlando’s airport to confront Shipman over their alleged rival interest in 41-year-old shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein.

Nowak wore a wig and tan trench coat when she approached Shipman’s car and then doused her with pepper spray, police said.

Police arrested Nowak at the airport. In her car, they found a steel mallet, a serrated knife and a loaded pellet gun.

Nowak told police she planned only to “scare” Shipman into talking about her relationship with Oefelein, and had no intention of harming her, according to a police affidavit. Shipman, 30, is an air force captain.

“Nowak said that she just wanted to talk to the victim,” said Orlando police spokeswoman Barbara Jones.

“But everything we found associated with it puts it in a different perspective than 'I just want to talk to you’.

“Prosecutor Amanda Cowan asked the judge to “set aside” the fact that Nowak was an astronaut and a naval officer, and refuse bail. “Murder was a plan.”—AFP