Well, I suppose this had to happen at some point: The first crime in space happened.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy now that lesbians can be every bit as miserable as hetro couples now.

That's always been the case. It's just that everything you hear regarding viral media is mostly concerning the lgbt community on a collective sociopolitical context. When you disregard that most anybody lives generic contemptible lives.

[AllanO]

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy now that lesbians can be every bit as miserable as hetro couples now.

As one newspaper I read put it, Gay divorce is no longer just a Cole Porter musical.

------

Personally I would defend this on the basis of SPACE MADNESS! how can we expect anyone to continue to obey the laws of Earth when falling free through the infinite inky blackness of space, the endless void tearing at their mind. I read a presentation that says there is no such thing as space madness, but I don't buy it, I just do not see how the human mind can sustain contact with the infinite. I mean sure technically you stare into infinity every time you look up into the night sky, but your surrounded by the comforting blanket of Earth's atmosphere and you can feel the stead normal force of your body pushing against the ground counter acting gravity, so totally different...

[J!!]

First crime to be recognised as a crime. As far as I am concerned, sending up dogs and monkeys to suffocate to death in the cold of space was reprehensible. I don't know how those men actually slept that night, but probably it was very soundly indeed with a ''for the greater good'' being uttered if they thought about it at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika#Ethics_of_animal_testing

Due to the overshadowing issue of the Soviet versus U.S. Space Race, the ethical issues raised by this experiment went largely unaddressed for some time. As newspaper clippings from 1957 show, the press was initially focused on reporting the political perspective, while the health and retrieval—or lack thereof—of Laika only became an issue later.[22]

Sputnik 2 was not designed to be retrievable, and Laika had always been intended to die.[4] The mission sparked a debate across the globe on the mistreatment of animals and animal testing in general to advance science.[14] In the United Kingdom, the National Canine Defence League called on all dog owners to observe a minute's silence, while the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) received protests even before Radio Moscow had finished announcing the launch. Animal rights groups at the time called on members of the public to protest at Soviet embassies.[23] Others demonstrated outside the United Nations in New York.[14] These protests were largely stirred up and instrumentalized as an ideological struggle by various interest groups.[24] Laboratory researchers in the U.S. offered some support for the Soviets, at least before the news of Laika's death.[14][25]

In the Soviet Union, there was less controversy. Neither the media, books in the following years, nor the public openly questioned the decision to send a dog into space. In 1998, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, Oleg Gazenko, one of the scientists responsible for sending Laika into space, expressed regret for allowing her to die:

Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it ... We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog.[21][22]

In other Warsaw Pact countries, open criticism of the Soviet space program was difficult because of political censorship, but there were notable cases of criticism in Polish scientific circles. A Polish scientific periodical, "Kto, Kiedy, Dlaczego" ("Who, When, Why"), published in 1958, discussed the mission of Sputnik 2. In the periodical's section dedicated to astronautics, Krzysztof Boruń described the Sputnik 2 mission as "regrettable" and criticised not bringing Laika back to Earth alive as "undoubtedly a great loss for science".[26]

[J!!]

Personally I would defend this on the basis of SPACE MADNESS! how can we expect anyone to continue to obey the laws of Earth when falling free through the infinite inky blackness of space, the endless void tearing at their mind. I read a presentation that says there is no such thing as space madness, but I don't buy it, I just do not see how the human mind can sustain contact with the infinite. I mean sure technically you stare into infinity every time you look up into the night sky, but your surrounded by the comforting blanket of Earth's atmosphere and you can feel the stead normal force of your body pushing against the ground counter acting gravity, so totally different...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_effect

The overview effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from outer space.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

It is the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, "hanging in the void", shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. From space, national boundaries vanish, the conflicts that divide people become less important, and the need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect this "pale blue dot" becomes both obvious and imperative.[5]

The thing that really surprised me was that it [Earth] projected an air of fragility. And why, I don’t know. I don’t know to this day. I had a feeling it’s tiny, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful, it’s home, and it’s fragile.
— Michael Collins, Apollo 11[7]

Astronauts Michael Collins, Ron Garan,[8] Rusty Schweikart,[5] Edgar Mitchell,[5] Tom Jones,[5] Scott Kelly,[9] James Irwin[10], Mike Massimino[11] and Chris Hadfield[12] are all reported to have experienced the effect. Third-party observers of these individuals may also report a noticeable difference in attitude.[5]

The term and concept were coined in 1987 by Frank White, who explored the theme in his book The Overview Effect — Space Exploration and Human Evolution (Houghton-Mifflin, 1987), (AIAA, 1998).[13][14]

Humans are generally much stronger than we give ourselves credit for.

[Admiral X]

[Robovski]

The science is just another opinion in a court of law. Space Madness precedent possible, ruins space operations forever.

[TGLS]

If she pleads space madness, the result is going to be the same either way; she won't fly again. I doubt that's going to be her defense unless she has nothing else.

[clearspira]

Doesn't look good for female astronauts. 100% Of all space criminals and space madness victims are women.

[Mecha82]

The science is just another opinion in a court of law. Space Madness precedent possible, ruins space operations forever.

There is that possibility yes but it might not be very likely one. Granted she might be desperate enough to use it as defense but still.

[Darth Wedgius]

There's still hope that the first crime in space will be something cool. On April 7, 2020 McClain was cleared of all charges. Her ex-wife, Summer Worden, a 44-year-old former Air Force intelligence officer, faces a two-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Houston, Texas, issued in late February.

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/04/07/army-astronaut-accused-of-committing-crime-in-space-is-cleared-ex-wife-charged-with-making-false-statements/