Man accuse of stealing astronaut sapce suit

by Tiffany Craig / 11 News
khou.com

CLEAR LAKE, Texas -- A Clear Lake man is accused of stealing the original space suit belonging to Sally Ride. The daughter of Calvin Smith, the man accused with the crime, said her dad had a crush on America’s first female in space.
For most of us, peering through plexiglass is the closest we will get to a space suit. Paul Spana at Space Center Houston showed 11 News many of the suits on public display.

“Here you see it at your scale, the human scale,” said Spana.

Spana said one of the most popular suits belong to the first female in space, Sally Ride. In 1983, Ride was the first woman to blast into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger.

“That was early on in the shuttle program,” said Spana “It was a big deal back then.”

That moment in history has become a big deal again, thanks to Calvin Smith.

According to court documents, Smith worked for Boeing’s Flight Group Processing Office. That office handles the maintenance of NASA flight suits.

The one thing court records don’t explain is how Smith managed to walk out of a secured area with the suit, a watch and other space items totaling $10,000 dollars.

Smith’s family said he has mental problems and had spent time in the Harris County Jail for domestic violence. When he got out, he gave his mother a list of things to pick up at his home.

According to Smith’s daughter, one item was a suitcase wrapped in duct tape. Curious about the contents, she opened the case and found the suit and a rejection letter from the Smithsonian Institution. Smith’s daughter said he was trying to sell the suit.

Court documents show that Smith's wife said she was already suspicious of her husband’s behavior after past visits to NASA and Space Center Houston. She said Smith would laugh as they passed suits with Ride’s name on it and make comments about knowing where Sally Ride’s original flight suit was. He told her he was very secretive about how he knew.

Smith’s wife turned him in to authorities. He now could face up to ten years in federal prison if convicted.

Spana said you just can’t swipe space stuff and get away with it.

“It’s not something you can hang on the wall and show off because everyone is going to know,” he said.

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