Man Admits to Stealing Sally Ride's Flight Suit

File this under strange, but true: A Texas man pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing the flight suit worn by Sally Ride as she trained to be the first US woman in outer space. Calvin Dale Smith of Houston stole the suit and other NASA equipment while he was working for the division of Boeing that was, at the time, responsible for caring for NASA flight suits, notes Wired.

Smith would probably have gotten away with snatching the suit if it weren't for his snitching estranged wife, who found the outfit stuffed in a suitcase in a room where he'd installed an alarm. She told investigators he used to snicker when he saw the replica of Ride's suit at the Johnson Space Center’s visitor center. Smith now faces a $250,000 fine and up to 10 years in jail.
(More astronauts stories.)