Nowak's lawyer, Donald Lykkebak, disputed that upgraded charge, which allowed police to keep the astronaut in jail. "In the imaginations of the police officers, they extend these facts out into areas where the facts can't be supported," said Lykkebak.

As the hearings on charges and bail played out on TV, the astonishing details about the case were repeatedly broadcast and quickly made the rounds of office e-mails and Internet blogs.

The details of the relationships of all three were unclear. Nowak and Oefelein, who both live in the Houston area, had trained together as astronauts, but never flew into space together. Shipman, 30, works at Patrick Air Force Base near Kennedy Space Center.

Earlier, Nowak was quoted by police as saying she and Oefelein had something "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship."