Astronaut's arrest won't delay shuttle

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- The arrest of an astronaut on an attempted murder charge has not distracted the crew of the upcoming space shuttle mission, even though she had been scheduled to be part of the flight's ground team, the shuttle's commander said Thursday.
"I'm quite confident there will be no impact to our mission," commander Rick Sturckow said at a news conference in Houston. "
Lisa Nowak had been scheduled to be a Mission Control communicator who talks with the six crew members of space shuttle Atlantis during their journey to the international space station.
NASA relieved her of all mission duties after she was arrested last week in Orlando on charges that she tried to harm Colleen Shipman, a Navy captain and the woman she viewed as a rival for the affections of astronaut Bill Oefelein. Nowak is charged with attempted murder, attempted kidnapping and three other crimes.
Shipman withdrew a request for a restraining order against Nowak on Thursday because the astronaut must wear an ankle monitor and is prohibited from making contact with Shipman under the terms of her release.
The Atlantis crew has been training with another communicator. They are scheduled to launch March 15 on a mission to continue construction on the international space station.
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