Dateline Season 16 Episode 47 Obsession (2008)

Obsession is the 47th episode of season 16 of the popular news and documentary show Dateline. The episode, which originally aired in 2008, examines the unsettling story of Lisa Nowak, a formerly high-achieving astronaut who found herself consumed by a bizarre obsession.

The hour-long episode begins with a recap of Nowak's impressive career, which began in the late 1990s when she was accepted into NASA's astronaut program. She quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a respected member of the space agency and eventually earning a spot on the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery.

However, in early 2007, Nowak's life took an unexpected turn. She became fixated on a fellow astronaut named William Oefelein, with whom she had previously been in a romantic relationship. Despite the fact that Oefelein had moved on and was dating someone else, Nowak continued to pursue him, sending him increasingly erratic emails and text messages.

As the episode unfolds, viewers learn more about Nowak's disturbing descent into obsession. She began to stockpile weapons and other equipment, including a BB gun, a trench coat, and latex gloves. She even drove nearly 1,000 miles from Texas to Florida (where Oefelein was based) with the intention of confronting him.

The episode features extensive interviews with law enforcement officials who were involved in the case, as well as with Nowak's former colleagues and associates. Viewers get a glimpse into Nowak's mental state at the time of the incident, as well as the impact it had on her personal and professional life.

The episode also raises some important questions about mental health and the pressures faced by high-achieving individuals in competitive fields like aerospace. Overall, Obsession is a thought-provoking and sometimes unsettling deep dive into a bizarre and tragic case of obsession and desire gone awry.