Former STS-121 astronaut Lisa Nowak pleaded not guilty for reasons of temporary insanity, during a trial where she is faced with accusations of kidnapping, battery and burglary with assault.

According to a notice filed on August 28 in State Circuit Court in Orlando, Captain Lisa Nowak’s lawyers will invoke reasons of temporary insanity in her defense. The attempted murder charges against her were dropped in April, when her trial was postponed, but she must still face charges of kidnapping with intent to inflict bodily harm or terrorize, burglary of a conveyance with a weapon and battery.

Defense attorney Donald Lykkebak included in the filling a list of disorders Nowak allegedly suffered from at the moment of the attack, in February 2007, including major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Asperger’s disorder, insomnia and "brief psychotic disorder with marked stressors."

He added in declaration released yesterday by his office:

"Court rules dictate that the defense provide notice of mental health issues in a criminal case. Even the most naive observer should recognize that Lisa Nowak's behavior on February 5 was uncharacteristic and unpredicted for such an accomplished person with no criminal record or history of violence. We have mental health experts to help explain this brief episode."

The statement also says: "The defense will not change course. For now we look forward to completing the hearing on our pending motions that Lisa Nowak's constitutional rights were abused during interrogation and the search of her vehicle."

One of the psychiatrists who will be cited in court to plea in favor of Nowak’s degraded mental and physical condition (it is also mentioned that the manic-depressive disorder she is suffering from has led to a 15% loss of her body mass) is Richard Pesikoff from Houston, famous for his contribution to the liberation of Andrea Yates, the mother who killed her 5 kids in the same town.

Lykkebak’s notice states that the filing does not challenge Captain Nowak’s competence to stand trial, but “only raises insanity at the time of the offense.”

On February 6, Lisa Nowak raced 900 miles by car from Houston to Orlando in order confront U.S. Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, who she considered a rival for the affection of fellow astronaut Bill Oefelien. The police said she donned a wig and trench coat, then sprayed a chemical into the woman's car when she would not let Nowak in.

She was armed with a steel mallet, knife and BB gun at the time of the incident. She also carried black gloves, rubber tubing and trash bags.

Following that incident, NASA decided to part ways with its former employee, who flew her first shuttle mission in July 2006 onboard the Discovery spaceship to the International Space Station. She had been with NASA since 1996 and served in mission control, the operations planning and astronaut robotics branches.

Nowak’s lawyers insisted on suppressing the evidence found in her car and the declaration she gave to the arresting officers in February, invoking Constitutional rights.