ORLANDO, Fla. -- Former astronaut Lisa Nowak is expected to decide during a Tuesday court hearing whether to accept a plea deal offered to her by prosecutors.

A spokeswoman for prosecutors in Orlando says she can't discuss the terms of the plea proposal. A spokeswoman for Nowak's attorneys did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Nowak, a Navy captain, is accused of confronting her romantic rival, Colleen Shipman, in the parking lot of Orlando International Airport in February 2007 after driving from Houston. Shipman had begun dating Nowak's love interest, former space shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein.

Police believe Nowak, wearing a wig and trenchcoat, followed Shipman to the parking lot and tried to get into her car, then attacked her with pepper spray. Shipman was able to drive away. Nowak faces charges of attempted kidnapping, burglary and battery with assault. The trial is set for next month.

An appeals court ruled last year that diapers, latex gloves and other items found in Nowak's car can be used as evidence but her six-hour police interview after her arrest cannot. The court said investigators took advantage of the former astronaut, who had not slept for more than 24 hours, coercing her into giving information.

Nowak, 46, flew on one space shuttle mission in 2006. She was dismissed from the astronaut corps after her arrest and has since been on active duty at a Navy base in Corpus Christi, Texas.

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