NASA are investigating the first space crime

After astronaut Anne McClain may have improperly accessed her estranged wifes bank account: https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-divorce-space-crime-investigation-identity-2019-8

Reply 1

z-hog

Woman astronaut and her estranged wife, that will be another first. No suggestion of any political tokenism anywhere at all, resulting in a degradation of standards for the sake of PCism.

Reply 2

BlueSoybean

who determines the laws of outer space?

Reply 3

username4926212

Original post by z-hog

Woman astronaut and her estranged wife, that will be another first. No suggestion of any political tokenism anywhere at all, resulting in a degradation of standards for the sake of PCism.

Here we see an old man shaking his fist at a cloud.

Reply 4

Stiff Little Fingers

Original post by Leviathan1611

who determines the laws of outer space?

Since the ISS is a collaborative work between several countries, I'd guess the country the astronaut is representing while up there.

Reply 5

Notoriety

Original post by _Wellies_

Here we see an old man shaking his fist at a cloud.

At the ISS.

Reply 6

BlueSoybean

Original post by Stiff Little Fingers

Since the ISS is a collaborative work between several countries, I'd guess the country the astronaut is representing while up there.

oh okay so the laws an astronaut follows depends on the country they're representing/from?

Reply 7

ThomH97

Original post by z-hog

Woman astronaut and her estranged wife, that will be another first. No suggestion of any political tokenism anywhere at all, resulting in a degradation of standards for the sake of PCism.

Probably shouldn't have sent her up there if she was this preoccupied with her personal life. 6 months is a long time to put something out of your mind for.

Original post by Stiff Little Fingers

Since the ISS is a collaborative work between several countries, I'd guess the country the astronaut is representing while up there.

I guess that works if the crime is committed 'in' the country they are representing, but what if one astronaut's actions were legal where they came from, but not for their victim? I'd see it as a sort of embassy up there, and Worden has broken various civil agreements that she can only be held responsible for once she comes back down. Her defence seems laughable though.

Reply 8

Joinedup

Original post by Leviathan1611

who determines the laws of outer space?

Interesting

The ISS consists of modules owned by different national space agencies and the ESA which is a multi national agency.

I think I heard the astronauts are under the legal system of the country that owns the section they're in... and in the ESA bit there's some procedure to decide which ESA member state's law applies.

Probably the USA will decide that the cyber crime of illegally accessing a computer that is inside the USA means that the crime occurred in it's territory - it's indicted and tried to extradite British hackers before for accessing computers inside the USA..

But the Astronauts will return to earth in a Russian soyuz to Kazakhstan and I don't think Russia or Kazakhstan have extradition treaties with the USA so there could be a possibility of some funny business.
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I think it must be a big worry to the other astronauts up there cos they're stuck with someone probably not very rational who is feeling under a lot of pressure who might try something dramatic to avoid having to face the music on earth.

Reply 9

username4920716

Original post by z-hog

Woman astronaut and her estranged wife, that will be another first. No suggestion of any political tokenism anywhere at all, resulting in a degradation of standards for the sake of PCism.

There has already been a gay woman astronaut, Sally ride.So I don't think it is a first actually.Also she's an astronaut.What have you done with your life?

Reply 10

Stiff Little Fingers

Original post by ThomH97

Good question and honestly I've no idea how you'd work out jurisdiction over space, but with the likes of Elon Musk and Richard Branson trying to turn space travel into something private companies and citizens do rather than a governmental agency deal, it's something that we'll need to work out.