ORLANDO, Fla. – Former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak will soon no longer be tracked by a GPS monitoring device strapped to her ankle.

Orange Circuit Court Judge Marc Lubet released his written ruling Thursday on the motion after he heard arguments during an Aug. 24 hearing.

Nowak complained the monitoring device on her ankle is costly and bulky. She told the judge that it is a hassle to travel by plane and she can’t exercise or adequately supervise her children at the pool.

Nowak, 44, a mission specialist on shuttle Discovery’s flight in July 2006, was charged with attempted kidnapping and burglary with assault, which is punishable by up to life in prison. She also was charged with misdemeanor battery.

She is accused of driving from Houston to Orlando International Airport to confront Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, who was dating Nowak’s love interest, Bill Oefelein, then also an astronaut.

On Feb. 6, Nowak posted $25,500 bail at the Orange County Jail and was fitted with a global-positioning ankle monitor with a built-in cell phone that tracks where she is anywhere in the world. It costs her $105 a week. That’s more than $3,000 so far.

Lubet has not ruled on two other motions discussed at the Aug. 24 hearing. A date has not been set to hear more testimony. Her attorney, Donald Lykkebak, is trying to get Nowak’s statements to the cops and the items seized from her car tossed out as evidence if the case goes to trial.

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(c) 2007, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).

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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): ASTRONAUT

AP-NY-08-30-07 1532EDT